Swimmer Bitten by Great White Shark Off California Coast
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iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — Swimmers at Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles received a scare Saturday when a man was bitten by a great white shark off the coast of Southern California.
The attack happened at approximately 9:30 a.m. after a fisherman on a pier hooked a 7-foot great white shark and spent around 30 to 40 minutes trying to bring the large fish in, according to officials.
As the swimmer, part of a long distance swimming group, approached the struggling shark, he was injured on his upper right torso as it bit through the fishing line.
The shark managed to escape the fishing line and swim away from shore after the attack.
The swimmer, whose name was not released, was immediately treated by paramedics and taken to a local hospital. His condition was listed as stable according to the Los Angeles County Fire and Lifeguard Division’s Twitter account.
According to LA County Fire officials, the man had a “moderate” bite wound to his chest and was breathing on his own.
Surfer Aram Ozen told the Los Angeles Times he was surfing near the swimmer when he heard people start to scream, “White, white!”
“It was a scary scream,” Ozen told the Times. “It was kind of freaky. There was a lot people screaming back to shore.”
A near two-mile stretch of water from Manhattan Beach to Hermosa Beach was closed for at least three hours as helicopters and lifeguard boats searched for the shark.
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