2023-08-08 14:12:20
By Dennis Romero NBC News
A woman is in critical condition after suffering a shark attack Monday on Rockaway beach, one of the most popular on the New York coast, local authorities reported.
The attack occurred at 5:49 p.m. in the coastal area at 59th Street, according to the New York Police Department, which added that the woman was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center at late Monday night.
The city’s Parks Department reported that the 50-year-old victim was swimming when she was bitten on her left leg. Local authorities did not reveal her identity.
Police officers in Rockaway on August 7, 2023. Spencer Platt / Getty Images
[“Cuando me mordió en el estómago no podía respirar”: la adolescente que peleó contra un tiburón en una playa de Florida]
The attack forced lifeguards to evacuate the beach while police searched fruitlessly for the shark from a helicopter, the Parks Department said in a statement.
The beach will open Tuesday as authorities continue to monitor for sharks, the Parks Department said.
“We hope this swimmer makes a full recovery,” he stated, “although this has been a terrifying event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare.”
A month ago there were multiple shark attacks northeast of Rockaway, in the waters off Fire Island, off Quogue, a Long Island town, and off Babylon, also in New York.
Sand tiger sharks, which can measure up to 10 feet (three meters), have been seen in relatively high numbers along the surf break off Long Island this summer.
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Experts at the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File say they are drawn to the bays and bait fish used to fish off the coast of Long Island.
Last year, the archive noted that in 2022 New York state recorded eight of the 20 shark attacks recorded since 1837 in the United States.
more frequent attacks
Shark attacks rose around the world in 2021 after three straight years of declines, but 2020 beach closures due to the pandemic may be making the numbers seem more dramatic than they are. as reported researchers.
The United States is the country with the most attacks. In 2021 they added 47, which represents a 42% of those that occurred the previous year. And in recent weeks five attacks were reported in New York and Florida, That tops the list of the most serious cases.
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The authorities believe that it could be the new normality due to the advance of urbanization. Researchers at the International Shark Attack File recorded 73 unprovoked incidents around the world last year, compared with 52 in 2020.
“If the water is cloudy, then the animal does not have good vision,” expert Luis Román assured Telemundo News.
Recent attacks have also been recorded in the Pacific. A few weeks ago, a surfer was attacked by a shark at Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove, California. The man suffered serious injuries to his stomach and leg.
In California, shark attacks are rare, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Since 1950 there have been 203 encounters between humans and sharks.
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