Shark bites off part of surfer’s leg off Maui beach – WSVN 7News | Miami news, weather, sports

(CNN) — A 61-year-old surfer in Hawaii managed to swim to shore after a shark bit off part of his leg near a beach in Maui, witnesses and authorities say.

The shark attack happened around 7 a.m. Friday in the waters off Waiehu Beach Park at a surf spot called Sand Piles, Maui County officials the release states.

“I heard this scream and I looked and all of a sudden I just saw a splash and I don’t know what’s going on,” said one witness, David Basques. CNN affiliate KHNL.

“He swam back, maybe more than half way, and then I saw somebody jump in,” Bask told KHNL, adding that the person who jumped in helped get the man the rest of the way to shore.

Police, firefighters and medical personnel arrived soon after and stopped the bleeding from the surfer’s leg, which was cut below the knee, authorities said.

According to officials, the man was alert while being treated on the shore. He was taken to Maui Hospital in critical condition. The man remained hospitalized Saturday in serious condition, a Maui Memorial Medical Center spokesman told CNN by email.

Maui Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Geese said Maui police’s “quick action” to apply tourniquets to the man’s leg is the decision that often makes the difference “between life and death,” he told KHNL.

“I would like to thank the patient for his strength and that he was able to reach the shore” Gizea said, reports HNL. “I mean, it’s extraordinary.” The chief firefighter also thanked the good Samaritans who helped the victim.

The entrance to Waiehu Beach Park was closed following the incident and beachgoers were advised to stay away from bodies of water in the area until further notice, according to the release.

Maui County recorded at least 75 unprovoked shark attacks since 1828 and eight people Hawaii was attacked by sharks last year, one fatally, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File.

According to the International Shark Attack File’s 2023 report, surfers and people involved in board sports accounted for 42% of reported shark attacks worldwide last year.