OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WBTW)-Two teenagers are recovering this morning after two shark attacks on Oak Island in North Carolina. They both happened on Sunday, about an hour apart and just two miles apart off the North Carolina coast.
The first victim was a 12-year-old girl who lost an arm and has serious damage to her left leg. The second victim was a 16-year-old boy and he also had to have his arm amputated. Even though there were two shark attacks at the same place in a short period of time, state and local officials say that’s not normal.
According to the international shark attack file, there were 72 unprovoked attacks in 2014 worldwide.
Forty five of those were in the continental U.S., four of which happened close to us in North Carolina. Three of the unprovoked attacks were deadly. According to www.sharkattackdata.com, since 1900, there’s been 90 shark attacks in North Carolina. And in South Carolina, there have been 132 shark attacks, 123 of those were unprovoked and eight of those were deadly.
If you’re still heading to the beach, there are things you can to do make your swim safer. Authorities recommend swimmers stay close to shore and swim in groups. Sharks are more likely to attack individuals. You shouldn’t go into the water if you are bleeding and you shouldn’t wear shiny objects
or brightly-colored swim wear.
The last time there was a deadly shark attack off North Carolina was in 2009, off the outer banks.
The beach was open yesterday, town officials just asked visitors to be alert and pay attention and to be aware of signs like fish swimming patterns, which could indicate a predator is nearby.
