A woman has been bitten by a shark in Hawaii on Friday October 14.
An unidentified 66-year-old was snorkeling off Charley Young Beach in Kihei around 10 a.m.,when she was bitten.
The part time resident of the island was around 20 to 30 yards off the beach in 7 feet of the somewhat murky water when she was bitten on the lower left leg.
A beach goer heard the woman’s screams and swam out to assist. A paddleboarder also came to assist and the two were able to pull the woman onto the board and take her back to shore.
Once on the beach two visiting nurses and a firefighter administered first aid until paramedics arrived.
She was taken to the Maui Memorial Medical Center in serious condition.
Hawaii has had a high number of shark attack bites in the month of October.
Through out the years, October has statistically been shown to be the highest month for shark attacks bites.
Data from the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources shows from 1980 to 2015 there were 122 unprovoked shark bites, including the well-known 2003 incident in which surfer Bethany Hamilton lost her left arm in Hawaiian waters. Twenty-one percent (21%) of the bites occurred during October.
This October Syndrome is thought to be caused by the migration of birthing tiger sharks.
There have been a total of 82 shark attack bites in 2016. Seven of which were fatal; 39 were reported in the US, with 28 occurring in Florida. Sixteen have occurred in Australia, three of which were fatal.
All locations have been marked on the 2016 shark attack bites tracking map.
