Rockaway Seashore is closed to swimmers and surfers on Tuesday after a lady was attacked by a shark – within the first shark blitz on the favored NYC seashore in 70 years.
The unnamed 65-year-old lady was bitten by the shark simply earlier than 6pm Monday whereas swimming off of certainly one of Queens’ seashore.
Witness experiences submitted by way of the crime reporting app Citizen urged a ‘chunk’ of her leg was taken off within the assault.
A spokesman for the New York Metropolis Police Division advised The New York Instances on Tuesday morning that the lady was in ‘critical however steady’ situation after being taken to Jamaica Hospital.
The final shark assault alongside the Rockway seashore was in 1953 when a 15-year-old boy was bitten by a shark that was hooked in his fishing line – previous to that the final Rockaway Seashore shark assault was in 1909, in line with the New York Each day Information.
Rockaway Seashore was closed Tuesday after a lady was attacked by a shark, leaving her in critical situation. Police are seen gathering by the seashore at 59th Avenue on Monday night
Police rushed to the scene at Rockaway Seashore, within the Queens neighborhood of New York Metropolis, shortly earlier than 6pm Monday
The harm to the lady’s leg on the thigh above her proper knee, in line with a photograph seen by the newspaper.
In line with the crime reporting app Citizen, police utilized a tourniquet to the sufferer earlier than she was rushed to hospital in crucial situation.
The FDNY confirmed to DailyMail.com officers had responded to a name at Seashore 59th Avenue and Rockaway Seashore Boulevard at 5.52pm. Swimmers have been ordered out of the water moments after the incident.
After the incident, police flew a drone and a helicopter over the seashore to find the shark, however have been unsuccessful. Parks division officers stated the FDNY and NYPD would proceed with aerial surveillance of the seashore to observe for sharks.
‘As a security precaution, Rockaway Seashore will likely be closed to swimming and browsing right this moment, August 8, on account of latest shark exercise,’ wrote Gregg McQueen, a spokesperson for the parks division in an announcement.
Police collect alongside Rockaway Seashore at 59th Avenue after a lady was attacked by a shark within the early night on August 7. It was the primary shark assault off Rockaway Seashore since 1953
Parks division officers stated the FDNY and NYPD would proceed with aerial surveillance of the seashore to observe for sharks. Pictured is a surveillance drone on the seashore on Monday night
It was the primary assault by a shark on an individual on Rockaway Seashore ‘in latest reminiscence’, in line with the parks division
The incident follows shark sightings off Rockaway Seashore final 12 months, which equally brought about town to shut the seashore to swimmers final July.
The assault is the most recent of a string of incidents in latest weeks. Though assaults as far west because the Rockaways are uncommon, swimmers additional east alongside Lengthy Island are at a higher danger.
One Lengthy Island shark professional advised the Each day Information it was seemingly the the assault on Monday was the results of poor visibility within the water.
‘As we speak it was actually windy, the water was churned up. The water might be just a little extra murky. That each one provides to the potential of those bites occurring,’ stated Christopher Paparo, supervisor of the marine lab at Stony Brook College.
A teenager was attacked by a shark over the Fourth of July vacation weekend throughout a visit to New York’s Hearth Island. That assault was certainly one of six alongside Lengthy Island this 12 months.
Within the July 4 vacation incident, Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau officers have been referred to as to the Hearth Island coast and so they rushed to assistance from the 15-year-old bitten off Kismet Seashore at round 5.20pm.
The teenager was subsequently taken to the Good Samaritan College Hospital in West Islip for medical help.
Final 12 months, the nation noticed 41 of 57 confirmed instances worldwide – 72 p.c of the world’s complete for 2022, in line with the Worldwide Shark Assault File.