“It was brutal,” a witness told a local Hawaii news station.
Hawaii officials have put up shark warning signs for the second time in a week after a man was hospitalized after an encounter with a 12-foot tiger shark, according to Hawaii authorities.
The 68-year-old man was swimming about 400 yards offshore at Anaehoomalu Bay, in Waikoloa on Dec. 13 around 8 a.m. when the shark bit him in the lower left torso, according to a statement issued by the Hawaii Police Department.
“It was hectic,” witness Anthony Singh told Hawaii News Now. “It was brutal.”
The man attempted to fend off the shark with a diving knife and the shark released the swimmer, police said.
Witnesses told Hawaii News Now that paddleboarders nearby helped bring the man to shore, where they said the man was coherent and responsive.
The man was transported to Queens North Hawaii Community Hospital by Hawai’i Fire Department personnel for treatment, police said. The man is in stable condition and will be transported to Oahu for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, according to police.
Last week, a 60-year-old Washington state woman went missing after her husband and witness reported she was attacked by a shark, Hawaii DLNR stated. An “extensive” search around Keawakapu Point in South Maui ended after failing to find the woman.
