Three surfers were bitten by sharks in Florida September 18.
All three bites occurred just south of the New Smyrna Beach jetty.
The first bite happened at 10:45 a.m. when a 43-year-old man was bitten on the lower leg. He had significant lacerations and was taken to the hospital.
The second bite occurred just 15 minutes later. Chucky Luciano was bitten on both hands. The 36-year-old posted the following information on Facebook:
“As some of you have heard, today I was bitten in both hands by sharks. Both of my hands were injured and I’ll need hand surgery in a couple hours. I’m still shook up about what happened. This has been a crazy week for me. But I’m very grateful that I survived and will get to recover. Many people are not so lucky. I also want to thank Giancarlo for being here with me at the hospital and for keeping everyone informed of my situation. I’ll have another update soon, but just keep me in your thoughts as I undergo reconstructive surgery to repair my hand.”
The third incident occurred around 1 p.m. when a 16-year-old was bitten on the thigh. The local teen had minor lacerations on the inner part of his thigh. He was treated on the beach and declined to be taken to the hospital.
New Smyrna Beach is known as the shark bite capital of the world. The area is home to a variety of bait fish and sharks. Signs are posted to warn of dangerous marine life, but the area remains popular with surfers.
There have been a total of 67 shark attack bites in 2016, six of which were fatal; 32 were reported in the US, with 22 occurring in Florida. Twelve have occurred in Australia, three of which were fatal.
Update 09/20/16 a fourth surfer was bitten on Sunday https://www.trackingsharks.com/13-year-old-bitten-shark-florida/
All locations have been marked on the 2016 shark attack bites tracking map.
