A surfer is injured in a shark attack in Oregon
An unlucky surfer had a rare encounter with a shark along the Oregon coast.
The surfer — identified only as an adult male — was riding the waves at Seaside Cove on Sunday when a shark set upon him, biting him in the leg and leaving puncture marks in his surfboard.
Luckily, the injuries were non life-threatening and a group of fellow surfers were able to carry him to safety.
An off-duty lifeguard was also nearby and applied a field tourniquet to the surfer’s leg to help stop some of the bleeding.
“The incident serves as a valuable reminder to never recreate alone, in or out of the water,” Seaside Fire and Rescue wrote in a news release. “The fast response of fellow surfers was instrumental in providing aid to the victim.”
The surfer was taken to a local hospital.
It’s not the first shark attack to happen this year
Although rare, shark attacks still happen.
There were 140 reports of shark attacks last year according to the Shark Attack File — five of which were fatal. And according to the report, the US leads the rest of the world with the highest number of shark attacks that are unprovoked, accounting for 64% of the worldwide total.
This year appears to be on track with those numbers. Less than two weeks ago, a 35-year old woman swimming 100 yards off shore in Hawaii was bitten by a shark. That was one of three confirmed 2020 cases in the state of Hawaii alone. And earlier last month, an Australian man was killed after being attacked by a shark at a popular Western Australian beach.
Your chances of being bitten by a shark are one in several million.
