AT least 22 people have been mauled by sharks in the United States this year alone, according to shocking new data. The most recent attack came this weekend at a popular beach resort in Florida that has been dubbed the shark capital of the world. A surfer was savaged in waist-high water at New Smyrna Beach – […]
AT least 22 people have been mauled by sharks in the United States this year alone, according to shocking new data.
The most recent attack came this weekend at a popular beach resort in Florida that has been dubbed the shark capital of the world.
A surfer was savaged in waist-high water at New Smyrna Beach – the second attack there in a week.
It came just days after a second man, 28, had his left foot bitten while riding the waves at the same spot on July 3.
Last month, a teen lost part of her leg after being attacked by a nine-foot shark at another Florida beach.
Addison Bethea, 17, was searching for scallops in water about five feet deep near Grassy Island, just off Keaton Beach, when the beast savaged her in Taylor County.
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She was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries as doctors desperately attempted to save her severely torn limb.
From her hospital bed, brave Addison described the heroic efforts of her half-brother Rhett Willingham, 22, who jumped in the water and beat the huge shark off until his sibling was free.
And in California, Steve Bruemmer was left with major injuries to his stomach and leg after being bitten by a shark while swimming at Lover’s Point Beach last month.
Hero bystanders pulled him in and gave him first aid once they heard his cries for help.
Amid a spate of attacks recorded by Tracking Sharks, experts have warned swimmers to stay in groups to avoid being bitten.
They also say you should not enter the water if you’re bleeding and to avoid wearing shiny jewelry which can mimic fish scales.
Experts also say you should look out for and avoid areas where there are seals or other shark prey.
And the time of day you enter the water should also be considered, with the early morning and sunset to be avoided.
In other recorded incidents, a woman was with her family when she was mauled in Lower Keys, Florida.
Lindsay Bruns, 35, was on a pontoon board and had dived into the water several times before her husband Luke heard a huge splash, the Miami Herald reports.
He saw blood in the water and Lindsay cried for help.
Meanwhile, a shocking video captured the moment a shark attacked a seal off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
On July 3, lifeguard Zach Gallo was left with a shocking hand injury after being attacked by a five-foot shark during a training exercise in New York.
A week later, John Mullins, who was participating in lifeguard training, was attacked by a shark at around 11 am at Ocean Beach on Fire Island in New York.
New Smyrna Beach took the unofficial title of shark capital of the world after a string of terrifying encounters with the dangerous predators in recent years.
Two men in their early twenties, a fisherman and a surfer suffered bites to their legs and feet there in March, Tracking Sharks records.
Seas around the globe have turned red, with 39 attacks reported since the start of January as the mighty sea creatures rip off limbs and sink their jaws into unsuspecting swimmers.
Two women were killed in separate shark attacks within 600 meters of each other in Egypt.
In another horror killing this year, Brit Simon Nellist was fatally mauled by a 15ft great white shark in Little Bay, Sydney, as he trained for a charity swim in February.
