A 12-year-old girl and a teenage boy each lost an arm in separate shark attacks in North Carolina that witnesses described as like 'a scene from Jaws.'
The female victim had her left arm amputated at the elbow and could still lose a leg while the 16-year-old boy lost his arm below the shoulder, officials confirmed.
The pair had to be airlifted from the beach after both were mauled by an unidentified shark within 90 minutes of each other off the coast of Oak Island on Sunday.
Both arrived at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in a critical condition but have responded well to treatment, hospital spokeswoman Martha Harlan told.
Holidaymakers Steve Bouser and his wife Brenda were at the beach at the star of a week's vacation, when they hear people shouting to 'get out of the water'.
He described 'nightmarish' scenes as people tried to apply makeshift tourniquets to the girl who was bleeding heavily from deep wounds to her arm and leg.
'I saw someone carry this girl (out of the water) and people were swarming around and trying to help,' he said. 'It was quite terrible.'
Brenda said: 'It was so much like a scene from Jaws.'
Experts said it was likely the animal was a blacktip or spinner shark, which are usually about six to seven feet long, live in the surf and normally go after fish.
When they mistake humans for fish and bite them, they tend to realize their mistake and move on.
Brunswick County Dispatchers said that they received the call at 4.12pm and several agencies including Oak Island Police and the Air Link Helicopter responded to the scene near Ocean Crest Motel.
Less than an hour-and-a-half later, the teenage boy was attacked about two miles down the coast.
Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace took to social media to warn people about the attacks.
She said details of the attacks, including how far from shore they were, had yet to be confirmed but asked people to keep the victims 'in your prayers.'
The attacks led sheriff's deputies to send special patrols up and down the shore warning beachgoers to get out of the water, and a helicopter was launched to search for a shark, described by witnesses as seven to eight feet long.
Wallace said town officials would meet on Monday morning to decide whether to officially close the beach to the public.
The beach at Oak Island, a town of about 7,000 year-round residents, was crowded on Sunday, and 'the weather was beautiful,' the mayor said.
The twin attacks came two weeks before the July 4th holiday weekend, when Oak Island's population typically swells with 30,000 to 40,000 visitors.
Wallace said shark encounters are virtually unheard of there, adding that a longtime resident could not recall a single one in 36 years.
'I don't want everybody to think this is one of those areas where you really have to worry about shark bites,' Wallace said. 'But for the foreseeable future, people have to be extra vigilant.'
A sheriff's spokeswoman confirmed authorities had responded to a previous report of a shark attack about 30 miles away at Ocean Isle Beach last Thursday.
The 13-year-old girl suffered cuts to her foot in that incident, with pictures showing where huge chunks had been bitten out of a boogie board during the attack.
Witness Jason Hunter told WWAY the boy's arm was taken 'clean off' in Sunday's attack.
Mayor Wallace told CNN that shark attacks were rare in the area and that she could not remember any occurring in Oak Island before. 'Common sense would tell you its the same shark,' she told the station.
Oak Island Town Manager Tim Holloman advised people to be a 'little more beach orientated' on Monday and said a helicopter was going up and down the coast to patrol. He described the attack as 'highly unusual'. He said: 'Oak Island is still a safe place; we're monitoring the situation.
The female victim had her left arm amputated at the elbow and could still lose a leg while the 16-year-old boy lost his arm below the shoulder, officials confirmed.
The pair had to be airlifted from the beach after both were mauled by an unidentified shark within 90 minutes of each other off the coast of Oak Island on Sunday.
Both arrived at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in a critical condition but have responded well to treatment, hospital spokeswoman Martha Harlan told.
Holidaymakers Steve Bouser and his wife Brenda were at the beach at the star of a week's vacation, when they hear people shouting to 'get out of the water'.
He described 'nightmarish' scenes as people tried to apply makeshift tourniquets to the girl who was bleeding heavily from deep wounds to her arm and leg.
'I saw someone carry this girl (out of the water) and people were swarming around and trying to help,' he said. 'It was quite terrible.'
Brenda said: 'It was so much like a scene from Jaws.'
Experts said it was likely the animal was a blacktip or spinner shark, which are usually about six to seven feet long, live in the surf and normally go after fish.
When they mistake humans for fish and bite them, they tend to realize their mistake and move on.
Brunswick County Dispatchers said that they received the call at 4.12pm and several agencies including Oak Island Police and the Air Link Helicopter responded to the scene near Ocean Crest Motel.
Less than an hour-and-a-half later, the teenage boy was attacked about two miles down the coast.
Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace took to social media to warn people about the attacks.
She said details of the attacks, including how far from shore they were, had yet to be confirmed but asked people to keep the victims 'in your prayers.'
The attacks led sheriff's deputies to send special patrols up and down the shore warning beachgoers to get out of the water, and a helicopter was launched to search for a shark, described by witnesses as seven to eight feet long.
Wallace said town officials would meet on Monday morning to decide whether to officially close the beach to the public.
The beach at Oak Island, a town of about 7,000 year-round residents, was crowded on Sunday, and 'the weather was beautiful,' the mayor said.
The twin attacks came two weeks before the July 4th holiday weekend, when Oak Island's population typically swells with 30,000 to 40,000 visitors.
Wallace said shark encounters are virtually unheard of there, adding that a longtime resident could not recall a single one in 36 years.
'I don't want everybody to think this is one of those areas where you really have to worry about shark bites,' Wallace said. 'But for the foreseeable future, people have to be extra vigilant.'
A sheriff's spokeswoman confirmed authorities had responded to a previous report of a shark attack about 30 miles away at Ocean Isle Beach last Thursday.
The 13-year-old girl suffered cuts to her foot in that incident, with pictures showing where huge chunks had been bitten out of a boogie board during the attack.
Witness Jason Hunter told WWAY the boy's arm was taken 'clean off' in Sunday's attack.
Mayor Wallace told CNN that shark attacks were rare in the area and that she could not remember any occurring in Oak Island before. 'Common sense would tell you its the same shark,' she told the station.
Oak Island Town Manager Tim Holloman advised people to be a 'little more beach orientated' on Monday and said a helicopter was going up and down the coast to patrol. He described the attack as 'highly unusual'. He said: 'Oak Island is still a safe place; we're monitoring the situation.
Music : Anguish by Kevin MacLeod
Source : DailyMail , CNN , WWAY
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