Swimmer attacked by shark in waters near San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A shark attacked a woman Friday in the Pacific waters north of San Diego, officials said.
The woman was treated at a hospital for puncture and laceration wounds to her upper right thigh, according to Jon Edelbrock, lifeguard chief for the city of Del Mar. She received stitches and is recovering.
The shark may have been a juvenile white shark, Edelbrock said, but officials are waiting for scientists to confirm that. Juvenile white sharks often swim in the waters off Del Mar’s shoreline.
A lifeguard spotted the woman and her friend just after 10 a.m. as they were heading back to shore following a mile-plus (kilometer-plus) swim, Edelbrock said. Their strokes changed and the friend was waving his arms for help in the water a few hundred yards (meters) from the beach, but outside the surf zone.
Lifeguards, who did not spot the shark, helped the pair back to shore, he said.
The beach is now closed for at least 48 hours under the city's shark bite protocol.
“She had a diligent swim buddy," Edelbrock said. “They both maintained their composure quite well.”
Del Mar is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.
An 8-foot-long (2.44-meter-long) juvenile white shark washed up dead Sunday on the shores of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and State Beach, according to KSWB-TV. That's nearly 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) south of Friday's attack.
