A visitor from Kansas was hospitalized for severe lacerations to his left forearm and lacerations to his left thigh following an attack by a 10- to 12-foot tiger shark at Hapuna Beach about noon Wednesday.
A visitor from Kansas was hospitalized for severe lacerations to his left forearm and lacerations to his left thigh following an attack by a 10- to 12-foot tiger shark at Hapuna Beach about noon Wednesday.
The 58-year-old man from Overland Park, Kan., was transported from North Hawaii Community Hospital to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu in stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman told West Hawaii Today about 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Beaches from Waialea to Mauna Kea were evacuated, and the shark continued to cruise just outside the surf line at Hapuna an hour after the attack. A Hawaii Fire Department helicopter tracked the animal and confirmed seeing stripes on the shark’s body.
Numerous snorkelers were in the water about 20 yards off a point at the south end of the beach when the shark attacked, and several bystanders helped bring the injured man ashore, ocean safety officers said. Police said the man was snorkeling with his family at the time.
“There was commotion in the water and we responded. Initially, we didn’t know what happened,” lifeguard Paul Tucker said. “Then, we saw bystanders dragging him in.”
Lifeguards helped the man to the shore and put a tourniquet on the injured arm while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
Kevin MacDonald, a visitor from Calgary, Canada, sat high away from the closed beach and used a pair of binoculars to track the shape of the restlessly moving animal. He had been body surfing an hour earlier when he saw the shadow of the shark about 30 feet away.
“I could see him in the face of the wave,” MacDonald said.
Later, he said, “I turned and looked toward shore, and I could see people waving everybody in.”
The beaches will remain closed until at least noon today, Acting Battalion Chief John Whitman said. A county helicopter will make an 11 a.m. sweep of the beaches to make sure they are clear.
“We’ve been watching him; he was coming in really close,” Whitman said. “He’s not nervous about the chopper flying over.”
Email Bret Yager at byager@westhawaiitoday.com.