HONOLULU (KHON) — A 58-year-old surfer in Honolulu was badly injured Sunday when a shark bit down on his leg.
Honolulu Ocean Safety said the surfer’s friends quickly made a tourniquet with their surfboard leashes to help him, potentially saving his life. He was taken to a local trauma center in “serious condition,” according to paramedics.
According to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, reports indicate it was an 8-foot tiger shark that caused the injuries. The surfers who helped the injured man reported the shark kept returning to the area as they administered aid, and said the animal was acting aggressively.
Friends said the injured surfer was a regular at the Kewalos Basin area, where the shark attack happened. Conservation officers are assisting lifeguards in warning beachgoers of the apparent shark encounter.
Ocean Safety said a fisherman was also chased out of the area by a shark.
“We had one of our operators out this morning, out of the Kewalos unit who made direct contact with the shark and saw it at the Marine land area. And, it kind of subsided for a bit; and then, I want to say maybe an hour or so ago [around 10:45 a.m.], it chased someone out of water that was fishing near Point Panic, even though the warning signs were up,” added Lt. Coglietta.
Officials planned to keep the warning signs up through mid-day Monday. Lifeguards on jet skis are also patrolling the area telling people to be careful.
According to DLNR’s website, this is the fourth shark incident so far in 2023, and the third bite reported this year. It’s the first on Oahu.
The last time a shark attack was reported at Kewalos was in 2002.