Florida authorities warn of shark dangers along Gulf Coast beaches after 3 people are attacked
SEACREST, Fla. — Authorities are using boats to patrol the ocean and are warning swimmers about sharks this weekend along Florida’s Gulf Coast, where three people were injured in two separate shark attacks on Friday.
The attacks on beaches in the Florida Panhandle prompted authorities to temporarily close several beaches to swimmers on Friday. The beaches were reopened on Saturday, with flags warning of major dangers.
In Walton County, the sheriff’s office, fire department and state wildlife agency worked together to patrol the water with boats and vehicles on the shore, the South Walton Fire District said in an update Saturday. Both of Friday’s attacks occurred in Walton County.
“Please swim carefully today, respect the Gulf, stay hydrated and look out for your loved ones,” the fire department said on social media.
Red and purple flags were used on Saturday to warn swimmers of the dangers.
“Purple flags indicate the presence of dangerous marine life and some red flags indicate very dangerous conditions,” the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post Saturday.
Small fish travel in schools along the coast this time of year, which may have been a contributing factor to the attacks, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said.
The first attack occurred Friday afternoon when a woman was bitten by a shark near WaterSound Beach, according to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. She suffered serious injuries to her hip and left forearm and was flown to a trauma center, authorities said.
Less than two hours later, firefighters responded to another beach, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) east of the first attack, “after multiple reports of a teenager injured by a shark,” the sheriff’s office said.
Two teenage girls were in waist-deep water with a group of friends when they were attacked, the South Walton Fire District said.
“When lifeguards and emergency responders arrived on scene, they discovered that one of the women had significant injuries to the upper leg and one hand,” fire officials said in an update. She was flown to a trauma center. The other teen had what officials described as minor injuries to one of her feet.
Also on Friday, a woman was seriously injured in Hawaii an apparent shark attack in the waters off the island of Oahu, officials said.
Shark attacks are rareaccording to experts.
Last year there were 69 unprovoked bites worldwide, 10 of which were fatal, according to the University of Florida International Shark Attack File. That was higher than the recent average of six deaths per year.