Woman suffers major injury after 'extremely rare' shark attack in New York

A woman has been left with serious injuries after an “extremely rare” shark attack off the coast of New York.

The 50-year-old woman was bitten and suffered major injuries to her left leg after swimming in the sea off Rockaway Beach, according to reports.

She was attacked in the water close to Beach 59th Street just before 6pm in the evening on Monday 7 August, according to the city Parks Department. It is the first shark attack to occur at Rockaway Beach in recent memory.

The injured swimmer was recused by lifeguards and brought ashore before they administered first aid on her badly injured limb before the emergency services arrived.

A tourniquet was placed on her leg which, sources say, was bleeding profusely from the injuries inflicted by the shark. She was taken to Jamaica Hospital in a critical condition.

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Other swimmers were ordered to get out of the water. Despite the NYPD launching a helicopter search, the shark responsible has not been located.

NYC Parks said in a statement that “shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare,” and added: “We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.”

NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit (TARU) was seen flying a drone over the area on Monday night following the attack. Along with the FDNY, it said it would continue to deploy drones on Tuesday to monitor for sharks in the water.

The beach would remain closed until at least 11am on Tuesday 8 August.

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