On the hottest day of the year, no one was in the water at Oak Island Beach in North Carolina; many afraid after two separate shark attacks happened on the same beach within 90 minutes of each other.
The day after two children were attacked by a shark each losing an arm, the beach looked like a scene from a movie; camera crews lined the sand and helicopters patrolled the water.
Not the vacation visitors expected.
“I’ve never seen how much damage a shark can do in such a short amount of time,” said Albert Rose.
Rose is visiting from Cherokee, North Carolina.
He was on the beach Sunday when the first attack happened.
Rose says the images from that day are something he will never forget.
“Seen the girl come out of the water and her left arm was missing from the elbow down,” he said.
Rose says it took him a few moments to realize what happened, but when he did he acted fast.
“I asked for some string or rope to tie her to stop the bleeding. I grabbed the surfboard and tied the chord around the upper part of her leg,” said Rose.
He says the girl’s father tied off her arm to stop the bleeding.
And an off duty medic took over until EMS crews arrived.
Officials said the fast action of beach goers may have helped save the young girl’s life
Something rose says he wishes never had to happen in the first place.
“Very tragic. I’ve never witnessed nothing like that in my life,” he said.
Rose says he plans to visit the 12-year-old girl in the hospital.
The 16-year-old boy attacked an hour and a half later on the same beach lost an arm.
He is expected to be out of the hospital in a few days.
