HONOLULU (AP) — A shark bit a 10-year-old boy off a scenic Oahu beach, officials confirmed Thursday as the state prepared for another round of giant waves from a low-pressure weather system in the Pacific.
The boy, who was bit Wednesday at Makaha Beach Park, is doing well and should be out of the hospital soon, said Dr. Bruce Anderson with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"All evidence, including eyewitness reports, points to this being a shark bite that we had at Makaha," Anderson said. Officials are confirming that with the International Shark Database in Gainesville, Florida, he said.
It's Hawaii's seventh confirmed shark encounter of 2015, state statistics show. The average number of shark bites per year has doubled over the past decade, but scientists think that's because there are more people in the water, providing more opportunities for encounters. There has been an average of about nine shark bites per year over the past five years.
On Thursday morning, two surfers were in the water at Leftovers Beach Park on Oahu's North Shore when a 10-foot shark chased them from the water, Honolulu Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman Shayne Enright said. Leftovers is the same beach where another man lost his leg when a tiger shark bit him on Oahu's North Shore in early October.
Officials put up signs and warned beachgoers of the sighting. "No one is in the water," Leftovers said.
U.S. Coast Guard and Honolulu police also are searching the water for a big-wave surfer who was reported missing after going surfing Tuesday on Oahu's North Shore. Police said they found his truck with his dog and keys still inside Thursday near Waimea Bay.
High surf warnings were issued Tuesday and Wednesday for all north-facing Hawaii shores with waves up to 30 feet, which would have made the waters turbid. Most shark bites in Hawaii this year have happened in murky water.
Anderson said this is the first shark bite at Makaha Beach Park in 46 years. In 1969, a surfer was injured by a great white shark in the area.
Kelly Krohne, an off-duty lifeguard who told Hawaii News Now he brought the injured boy to shore, said the boy suffered a wounds to his legs about 60 to 70 yards offshore.
Crews were sent to close the Makaha Beach and post shark warning signs from Keaau to Lahilahi Point, a Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman said.
