There were horrifying scenes in Texas yesterday as blood poured into the waters of a beach while a shark circled.
Several people were reportedly attacked at South Padre Island on Thursday (4 July). And chilling footage shows a dorsal fin not far from the shore as an injured woman is pulled up the beach.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reported that two people were bitten by what it believes is the same shark as two others encountered it but survived without getting seriously hurt.
It is thought the shark is around six feet long as the department added that shark attacks on humans tend to be a case of mistaken identity as the predators believe the swimmers are prey animals.
The two victims were taken to Valley Regional Medical Centre in Brownsville, with one of them later airlifted to another hospital. Their conditions have not yet been confirmed.
The woman had a bite in her left leg. (@shannonsharpeee/X)
Although, a separate audio statement last night from South Padre Island Fire Chief Jim Pigg to CBS News, announced that three victims were hospitalised.
He also added that the shark responsible was ‘located at the south end of the island and was pushed out to deeper water’.
One video from yesterday morning shows police rushing to the scene as a woman had a severely nasty bite on her left leg from the shark. It showed a shark’s fin still near the shoreline as people rushed to help the woman and halt the bleeding as blood poured into the waters.
“Pending investigation, we do not know the species, we do not know the reason why this is happening, it’s unprecedented right here on South Padre Island,” Pigg added.
The fin could still be seen in the video. (@shannonsharpeee/X)
The full statement from Texas Parks and Wildlife said: “Details at this time indicate that two people were bitten and two people encountered the shark but were not seriously injured.
“The two victims who were bitten were transported to Valley Regional Medical Centre in Brownsville where one is being treated and the other has been flown out for further treatment.
“Local game wardens and members of the Texas Game Warden Marine Tactical Operations Group assisted in patrolling the beach by boat and land patrol while DPS patrolled the area by helicopter and SPI PD and Cameron County rangers assisted with crowd control on the beach. No further details are known at this time.”
Featured Image Credit: @shannonsharpeee/X
Topics: Shark Attacks, Sharks, US News