Witness says swimmer survived shark attack by punching predator in the face
A witness recounted how a man thwarted a shark attack by punching it in the face at a popular California beach before being rescued by fellow swimmers. The 46-year-old was bitten on the torso, left arm, and hand about 90m from shore at Del Mar City Beach near San Diego.
Jenna Veal, one of the swimmers who witnessed the incident, described how the victim screamed for help and managed to punch the shark in the face and nose. The victim sustained injuries from the shark’s teeth.
After the group brought the man back to shore, an emergency department doctor passing by stopped to assist. Ms. Veal mentioned the victim remained conscious and is expected to recover.
Sharks including great whites come close to swimmers almost every day in the San Diego beaches. File pic: AP
Another eyewitness was shocked to see the man swim back to shore after the attack. Lifeguards on the beach were alerted to the incident.
The victim, an avid ocean swimmer, sustained significant but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The beach was closed following the attack for safety reasons.
A search for the shark with a drone and a boat did not yield any results due to poor water visibility, according to Jon Edelbrock, the city’s lifeguard chief. Experts believe the attack could have been caused by a shark unfamiliar with human presence.
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Sharks frequent the waters near Del Mar and Torrey Pines beaches in San Diego, with only a few unprovoked attacks recorded in the county. The San Diego waters are known as aggregation sites for sharks, where attacks are less likely due to sharks being accustomed to human presence. Experts believe that the incident could have been caused by a new or unfamiliar shark entering the area.
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Chris Lowe, a marine biology professor and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, mentioned that the attack could have been caused by a new shark in the area unaccustomed to human interaction. His team tracks juvenile white sharks in the region.
“It could have been a new shark to the area that was coming in and wasn’t used to people and made a mistake,” Lowe speculated.
