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06/18/2013 - James Kerrigan - Hawaii

Recent Shark Attacks in 2013 and 2013 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
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helmi
Posts: 208
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:23 pm

Re: 06/18/2013 - James Kerrigan - Hawaii

Post by helmi »

Attack Victim: ‘I Never Saw the Shark’

Posted on June 19th, 2013
by Dave Smith

Contrary to early reports from police, the man bit by a shark in Kona said he never saw his assailant.
James Kerrigan, 28, was swimming with his fiancé in about 12 feet of water 100 yards offshore of Mahaiula Beach when the shark grabbed his right leg.
“I never saw the shark,” Kerrigan said in a phone interview from his room at Kona Community Hospital where he is recuperating.
His first thought was that a friend had grabbed him from behind.
However, others saw the 12- to 14-foot tiger shark, including people on the beach as well as the crew of a fire department helicopter arriving to medivac Kerrigan to the hospital.
Kerrigan said he realized he had been attacked after he began feeling the pain and saw blood in the water.
“It latched on and I felt like the head thrashed around a bit, and then it was gone,” was how the former New Jersey resident described the attack.
His next thought?
“Get to shore as quickly as possible,” Kerrigan said.
He said that he wasn’t really worried about the shark coming back because he had heard that such incidents usually involve just one bite.
As he reached shallow water he was helped onto the sand by bystanders.
Kerrigan said he didn’t know the extent of his injuries, but a retired paramedic at the beach at Kekaha Kai State Park assured him that he would be all right and would keep his leg.
He sustained numerous lacerations, with the deepest about an inch deep. He wasn’t sure how many stitches he has received, but said it was in the “hundred-plus range.”
Kerrigan, who moved to Kona nine months ago to work for the Transportation Security Administation, said he’s pretty sore today and cannot yet place much weight on the injured leg, but is hopeful that he will be released from the hospital in a day or two.
While he acknowledged that in future trips to the ocean the possible presence of sharks will never be far from his mind, he said it won’t stop him from going into the water.
Or at least on it.
“I’m more of a paddle-board kind of guy,” he said.
Source: bigislandnow.com
alb
Posts: 1569
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:41 pm

06/18/2013 - James Kerrigan - Hawaii

Post by alb »

Police have initiated a public accident case in connection with a shark attack Tuesday afternoon in waters off a Kona beach.
A Kailua-Kona man was swimming about 100 feet off shore shortly before 1 p.m. when he spotted a shark in waters off Kekaha Kai State Park, also known as Kona Coast State Park.
As the man was swimming to shore, the shark bit him on the right thigh and right calf and then released him.
The swimmer made it to shore, where he was assisted by bystanders and a volunteer firefighter.
A Fire Department helicopter took him to Kona Community Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life threatening. Emergency crews reported he was conscious and alert.
A 12- to 14-foot tiger shark was sighted in the area shortly after the attack.
The park was closed to the public until further notice.
State and county authorities have not identified the man, and have reported his age as 25, 28 and 29. It is not yet clear which is correct.

MEDIA RELEASE
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) has closed Mahaiula and Kua Bay sections of Kekaha Kai State Park due to a shark incident earlier Tuesday. The park is located 2.6 miles north of Keahole airport in Kailua-Kona.
At about 12:55 p.m., the victim, a 28-year-old male from Kailua-Kona, was swimming in waters off of Mahaiula Beach when he was bit by a shark.
The county Fire Department responded and transported him via medevac helicopter to Kona Community Hospital for treatment.
The helicopter overflight also revealed what appeared to be a large tiger shark in the vicinity of the location where the victim was attacked.
DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officers and State Parks staff evacuated Mahaiula Bay, closed access to the bay and posted shark warning signs. Kua Bay is being evacuated as well and access closed.
Closure of these two bays will continue until at least noon Wednesday, following a flyover by county Fire Department helicopter to assess offshore waters for any presence of sharks.

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