2 children apparent victims of shark attack off Fire Island in New York
TOWN OF ISLIP, N.Y. -- Two children were recovering Wednesday night after officials say they were bitten by a shark off Fire Island, CBS New York reports. The 13-year-old boy was bitten in the water around noon at Atlantique Beach, while the 12-year-old Lola Pollina was bitten around the same time at Sailor Haven Beach. She says the water was so cold she didn't feel anything, but there's little doubt the creature that chomped on her leg was a shark.
"It was a 10-inch orangey body and then there was a fin and then I got out, and my leg was bloody," Lola said. "We went to the lifeguards, we ran up to them and they kind of bandaged it."
Lola was in waist-deep water roughly 10-feet off the shore when it happened. Her mother snapped photos and took to social media to share them.
"I saw a lot of thrashing and her trying to get to me," mom Barbara Pollina said.
Lola wasn't alone, with nearly identical bandaging slapped on the 13-year-old victim who had been boogie boarding just four and a half miles away. He didn't just have bite marks on his leg; a shark tooth managed to embed into his skin.
Both victims' injuries were described as non-life-threatening
The boy was taken to Southside Hospital. The girl was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center.
Marine life experts say cleaner ocean waters in New York are making conditions ripe for the sea life sharks like to eat, attracting them to areas closer to the shoreline. Wednesday evening, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo deployed environmental conservation officers to investigate the waters off Fire Island.
Lola says the ordeal won't stop her from going in the water, but she'll make sure to be more careful next time.