Rockaway Beach remains closed after woman bitten by shark on Monday night
NEW YORK -- Despite there being only a few weeks left in the summer, the city, still not taking any chances, shut down Rockaway Beach in Queens on Tuesday, following a nasty shark bite incident on Monday.
A woman was bitten so badly, she was rushed to Jamaica Hospital.
The Parks Department and the NYPD were surveilling the beach Tuesday, but not saying if they saw the shark in question or others. They only said it's not safe to go in the water right now.
No swimming flags were seen scattered across the desolate beach. The Parks Department said in a social media post it's a "safety precaution" due to recent shark activity.
"It's concerning, but at the end of the day, that's where sharks do live," local resident Glenn Diresto said.
"Last year had a lot of sharks, too, and a lot of beaches closed, so I don't play with it," said Rockaway resident Chai Bunbury, who was staying far away from the water while flying a kite with his son.
Police said a 65-year-old woman was bitten on her leg while swimming close to shore at around 6 p.m. by Beach 59th Street. CBS New York spoke with one lifeguard off camera who assisted the victim. He said she was alone and only about 10 feet out into the water when she was bitten.
Images show first responders treating her with urgency before she was rushed to the hospital, where she remains in serious condition. Lifeguards initially used a buoy rope as a tourniquet on her leg. In other images too graphic to share, her upper thigh was missing a large section of flesh, which sources say was found on the shoreline.
Lifeguards said she had a weak pulse but was conscious and they kept her talking.
Watch Alice Gainer's report
"It was me and my co-workers cleaning on the beach, cleaning the beach. I seen a lady in distress in the water. I started waving to them like come, come, I think somebody's in distress over there," Parks Department employee Shaneka Thomas said. "She was just moving around, flapping her hands. We just seen a lot of movement ... in the water."
Witnesses told CBS New York the woman appeared to be in shock.
"The lady is on the stretcher. She's bleeding on the leg," one said.
"I see one big bite and one little one," another said.
The incident happened just 15 minutes before lifeguards were going off-duty for the day. Locals said she was lucky.
"The lifeguards are pretty good here. Some of them have been here for years," Bryant Pearson said.
Rockaway resident Giles Ashford doesn't plan on waiting to get back in the water.
"I'll probably go in in the morning," he said. "I've seen sharks out here before."
On Tuesday morning, helicopters were seen going up and down the shoreline. It appears they were searching for sharks. Meanwhile, members of the NYPD were flying drones as a part of their aerial surveillance.
The Parks Department said there hasn't been a shark biting incident at Rockaway Beach in recent memory.
Sources told CBS New York the water was choppy with heavy winds and a storm approaching that may have left the large fish disoriented. Experts say sharks don't usually attack humans, but so far the species has not been identified.
"I am really surprised," resident Wyle Hyde said. "It's not like an ordinary critter that is around here, harmless sharks, like threshers or sand sharks."
Experts say shark bites are extremely rare, and the sharks are more than likely following prey, not humans.
"The Atlantic menhaden, also called bunker, is the basis of the food chain. Any predatory animal of any size out there, that's probably what they're going to be eating. When those fish are close to shore, the predators come in and feed on them," said Hans Walters, curator and field scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Experts say it's our job to be aware in the water.
"When you go to the beach, look for disturbances in the water more than just the wind and the waves lapping around that would indicate there's a lot of baitfish in the water, and maybe stay out of the water at that point," Walters said.
It was the sixth reported shark bite across New York this season, and there were at least eight reports last year.
While the Parks Department said the beach was only going to be closed for the day, it did not say for certain it will re-open again Wednesday. It will likely have to continue to monitor the situation.
New York State Police said there was a possible shark sighting on Tuesday morning at Jones Beach State Park.
Police said the shark was spotted 10 yards out from the Central Mall. As a result, swimming was prohibited at the Central Mall, East Bathhouse and West Bathhouse at Jones Beach. Swimming was reauthorized just after 6 p.m.