Shark bite severs 61-year-old surfer’s leg below knee off Maui, Hawaii rescuers say

A 61-year-old surfer swam back to shore with help after a shark bit off his leg below the knee, Hawaii rescuers reported.

The shark bite took place at Waiehu Beach Park on Maui at a surf spot known as “Sand Piles” at about 7:05 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, the County of Maui said in a news release.

Rescuers applied tourniquets and took the man to a hospital in critical condition, officials said. Beaches were closed in the area.

A GoFundMe established to help pay for the surfer’s care said Saturday, Nov. 2, that he has been moved out of intensive care.

Officials had no information on the shark involved.

“Something bit him, wrenched his leg off and swam away — so he could not give any information as to the type of shark or size of shark,” Assistant Chief Jeffrey Giesea of the Maui Fire Department told Maui Now.

Onlooker David Basques told Hawaii News Now he heard a yell and saw a splash, then saw the surfer swimming back to shore on his own before someone jumped in to help.

“I would like to commend the patient for his strength and wherewithal, getting himself to shore. I mean, that’s extraordinary,” Giesea told the publication.

What to know about shark attacks

Shark attacks are “extremely rare,” according to John Carlson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“You have a better chance of getting in a car accident and being injured on your way to the beach than you do actually when you get to go swimming,” he said in a video posted to NOAA’s website.

In 2023, the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File investigated 120 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those interactions, 69 were unprovoked shark bites, and there were 14 “shark-related fatalities.”

If you see a shark in the water, however, don’t panic, Richard Peirce, former chair of the Shark Trust and Shark Conservation Society, told CNN.

“Don’t start splashing around — you’re just going to excite, incite and encourage the shark’s interest,” he told the news outlet.

Instead, maintain eye contact with the shark and read its body language. If the shark appears to be in “attack mode,” you should make yourself as large as possible, CNN reported. If it seems to just be swimming by, try to stay small.

If the shark attacks, experts told CNN you shouldn’t play dead.

“You must try and keep the animal in sight and very slowly and gently try and swim backwards and get into shallow water,” Peirce told CNN. “Again, you’ve got to be careful — large sharks can attack in very shallow depths.”

This story was originally published November 3, 2024 at 7:44 AM with the headline "Shark bite severs 61-year-old surfer’s leg below knee off Maui, Hawaii rescuers say."