Shark sighting forces closure at Rockaway Beach
Fox Weather's Katie Byrne reports on the uptick in shark sightings and attacks.
Two people were bitten by sharks on the same day this week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with one of the victims receiving hundreds of stitches.
The incidents happened Monday near 75th Avenue North and 82nd Avenue North, Myrtle Beach Police Cpl. Tom Vest said in a statement to Fox News.
"I just felt something, I guess, bite me and there was a shark on my arm. I was only in waist-deep water. I kept pushing at it to get it off my arm, and it did," one of the victims, identified as Karren Sites of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told WPDE.
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One of the victims said she was swimming along this stretch of water in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Monday when she was bitten by a shark. (Google Maps)
Sites said she was in the water around noon when the shark approached her and her 8-year-old grandson Brian.
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"I couldn’t even see the shark coming up, but all I saw was the shark jumped up, and it didn’t even bite all the way, like I saw the movement of the tail go to the side, and then she screamed a little bit and as soon as she touched it, it fell into the water," Brian told WPDE.
Crowds enjoy the beach on May 29, 2021, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Sites was then taken to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery and received hundreds of stitches, the station added.
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"We can confirm two swimmers were injured after encounters with marine life on Monday, August 15," Vest told Fox News. "The first occurred at 11:17 a.m. north of 82nd Avenue North and the second at 12:35 p.m. near 75th Avenue North."
"The injuries were later confirmed to be caused by a shark," he added. "Our beach patrol works with the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida to identify marine animal bites, specifically sharks. "
Fox News' Sandy Ibrahim contributed to this report.
