The surfer, a local resident who friends have identified as Colin Cook, was assisted to shore by another surfer/paddleboarder. The attack was near-fatal and Cook lost one of his legs, confirmed KHON2 News.
Advertisement
Witnesses in the water and on land helped save a shark attack victim in Hawaii.
KHON reported that Mr Cook was sitting on his surfboard awaiting the next wave, when a school of fish jumped out of the water.
The man had an injury to his left leg and cuts on his hands, indicating he fought off the shark, Enright said.
“He’s an over comer and he’s strong and he’s a fighter”, said a friend and mentor of Cook’s Chuck Barend.
“He swam on his own free will to another surfer who threw him onto his board and paddled him straight to shore.”
They say that the shark attacked him from underneath. The surfer, Kiowa Gatewood of Kaneohe, had lacerations on his left leg that required surgery.
Ocean Safety and the Honolulu Fire Department personnel are patrolling the same areas Saturday morning and at noon, if there are no shark sightings, an all-clear will be given.
Cook was rushed to Queen’s Medical Center in critical condition, where most of his leg was amputated, KHON said.
“He was screaming “shark” and ‘help, ‘” recounted Drew Zarba. He was, however, visibly shaken. Helping to account for this year’s shark hysteria, eight attacks occurred in a span of about six weeks in early summer off the coast of North Carolina, a state that had seen a total of only 25 shark attacks in the previous decade, according to the Shark Attack File.
Lifeguards were warning people to get out of the water along a 2-mile stretch of beach from Laniakea to Waimea Bay, Enright said. Nearby beaches were also put on alert and warning signs posted.
Advertisement
Witnesses told officials the shark was either a tiger or Galapagos about 10-12 feet long, but officials could not confirm the species or size.
