A woman visiting from out-of-town has been bitten by a shark off the beach in front of the Driftwood Resort, according to fire rescue officials.
She is being airlifted to Lawnwwod Medical Center and Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, according to authorities.
The attack happened around noon Wednesday, according to Vero Beach police.
Recreation Director Rob Slezak said double red flags are being flown at all the city beaches and people are being told not to go into the water. County officials have been notified.
Slezak said the woman lost a significant amount of tissue after being bitten in the upper thigh. She was about 20 to 30 yards off the shore when the incident happened.
“The only thing that we know is that she screamed ‘shark,’ ” said Slezak when asked if anyone else had spotted the shark.
He said a lifeguard brought the woman into shore and stabilized her until paramedics from Indian River Fire Rescue arrived.
A 19-year-old Orlando man was taken to a Brevard County hospital this afternoon after being injured during a brief encounter with a shark on Playalinda Beach in Florida.
The young man was kitesurfing with friends about 1:15 p.m. when his left foot came into contact with a shark, said Jeff Taylor, a spokesman for Brevard County Fire Rescue.
He was taken by ambulance to Parrish Medical Center in Titusville with “lacerations” that appeared to be “fairly superficial.”
The man, whose name was not immediately available, himself was not sure what happened. He told paramedics that he felt his foot hit something and then he felt immediate pain, Taylor said.
A man was taken to the hospital after being bitten by a shark this evening, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue said.
The man was brought in by boat to the Seasport Marina and transported by ambulance to St. Mary’s Medical Center, said Capt. Albert Borroto, spokesman for Fire Rescue. Paramedics responded to the marina shortly after 6 p.m.
The man, whose name and age were not released, reported a shark bite to his hand, Borroto said. It was not immediately known what type of shark bit him.
A man surfing south of Newport is alive after surviving an alleged shark attack Thursday.
Bobby Gumm of Newport was surfing with three friends about 200 yards off the coast at South Beach State Park when witnesses say was suddenly thrown approximately 10-feet into the air.
Ronald and Carol Clifford of Waldport were with Gumm when the attack occurred.
“He said he just got done surfing. He said he went up to sit down. He felt a bump on his leg, and noticed it was a shark. And that’s when he called for help,” Ronald Clifford said.
Clifford, a local surfing instructor, says he saw a 2-foot fin come out of the water.
For the second time in 2 weeks, a person was bitten by a shark near Anna Maria Island.
Manatee deputies say Javier Perez was wade fishing near Bean Point with his family on Sunday afternoon. After packing up and dumping his bait, Perez was still standing in waist deep water when a shark came up behind him and bit his left thigh.
Perez and his family were able to flag down a passing boater and head toward the Rod and Reel pier.
He was transported to Blake hospital with a small wound and scratches on his leg.
A 21-year-old Longboat Key man was bitten on the thigh by a bull shark last weekend while spear fishing off Anna Maria Island.
A surfer was bitten this morning as he paddled out on his board about a quarter mile south of the jetty at the 2800 block in New Smyrna Beach, said Capt. Tammy Marris.
While the attack left a 3-inch deep cut on the arm of Daniel Jorgensen, 25, of Winter Park, Jorgensen, who was in 6 feet of water, refused transport to the hospital, Marris said.
“He said he would drive himself to the hospital,” Marris said.
The attack, reported just after 11 a.m., is this year’s fifth shark bite, Marris said.
Local fishing guide and surfer Capt. Patrick Preston said he was out for a surf and was only 10 feet away from Jorgensen when he was bitten.
“I saw the swirl, the shark swirled real hard, probably about five feet from me when I was duck diving (through a wave),” Preston said. “I looked over and there was mullet jumping all over this guy and then the whole (expletive) shark came out of the water.
“It was a big shark. More than likely (a bull),” he said. “I’ve never seen a black tip or anything get that big.”
New Smyrna Beach surfer and Surfer magazine photographer Patrick “Tupat” Eichstaedt said an 8-foot bull shark has been seen cruising the same sandbar where Jorgensen was bitten for days now.
A 19-year-old surfer was bitten by shark at Crescent Beach.
Shane Lancaster told the St. Augustine Record ( http://bit.ly/r3KCy4) he felt something bump into his leg while surfing Wednesday morning at the north Florida beach. When he emerged from the water, his left leg was covered in blood.
St. Johns County Marine Rescue officials cleaned and bandaged the wounds.
Lancaster told the newspaper the shark left 22 teeth marks on the bottom of his leg and six on top. Lancaster says the wounds required stitches.
