Swimmer, 56, mauled by shark at popular family beach at end of summer feeding frenzy warned by experts
A popular beach destination has been rocked by a brutal shark attack.
A 56-year-old man was bitten while swimming near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about 100 miles northeast of Charleston.
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He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Myrtle Beach Police Corp. Christopher Starling said The Sun News.
It is not known what species of shark was involved in the incident, which occurred just before 5 p.m.
No one else was injured by the animal.
Monday’s attack came at the end of a coastal feeding frenzy sparked by Hurricane Lee, which passed Cape Verde and Bermunda before reaching Nova Scotia earlier this month.
The storm pushed sharks closer to the Atlantic coast of states like Florida and South Carolina, said Gavin Naylor, director of the University of Florida’s shark research program WOFL.
Last week he warned that beachgoers should remain vigilant about shark attacks.
Mark Sumersett, 38, suffered serious facial injuries last week after he was attacked by a shark during an early morning surf session in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando.
The city has been dubbed the shark attack capital of the United States.
He was the seventh person attacked by one of the animals in Volusia County this year.
The shark sank its teeth into both sides of Sumersett’s head.
“It was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life,” he said WESH.
“I was in bad car accidents. Nothing like that.”
Sumersett said it felt like a “bear trap” was clamping down on his face.
“It was pressure, and I tell you, that pressure was like a crunch,” the surfer said.
He had traveled from South Carolina to take advantage of Hurricane Lee’s waves.
“I felt like I was going to get bitten yesterday,” Sumersett said.
“I really did. To be honest, I had intuition.”
The surfer was taken to hospital where he received around 20 stitches from his injuries.