Man survives shark attack after other surfers rush to his aid in northern California

One internet user is “lucky” to have survived a shark bite over the weekend about 70 miles north of San Francisco, an emergency responder said Monday.

The surfer, who has not been publicly identified other than being in his 30s, was bitten in the thigh around 9 a.m. Sunday near the Sonoma coast north of Bodega Bay, the captain said. David Bynum of the Bodega Bay Fire Protection Division.

The surfer’s condition was unknown on Monday. He was conscious when airlifted and is expected to survive, Bynum said.

The man was first helped ashore by surfers who applied a tourniquet to his thigh with surfboard leashes, which another passer-by then replaced with a manufactured tourniquet, Bynum said. First responders arrived within minutes and continued to treat the surfer, who was airlifted to a hospital by the California Highway Patrol, Bynum said.

“The tourniquet was crucial. This is what made the difference between a fatal injury and a stable patient, ”he said. ” He is lucky. He had a lot of help from the start.

NBC Bay Area spoke to Jared Davis, a surfer who saw the shark bite the man and helped him immediately after.

“I saw the shark’s dorsal fin. And then I saw the shark’s tail fin, ”Davis said. “It certainly wasn’t … like a quick attack.” It was nice and slow.

Davis also told the station that surfers had applied a tourniquet to the wound.

“We did it with two separate surf leashs. Tie them as tightly as we can, ”he said.

Bynum said beaches near the site were open on Monday but the ocean remained closed until Tuesday.

A great white shark is believed to be the culprit, but that was not confirmed on Monday, Bynum said. The state’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife will attempt to collect and analyze DNA from the surfer’s wetsuit and surfboard to identify the species, he said.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Department, there were 198 incidents of contact between sharks and humans from the 1950s through August. Fourteen were fatal and 106 were classified as non-fatal, and there were no injuries in 78 cases, he reported. Surfers were involved in 77 of the incidents. According to department statistics, an overwhelming majority of the cases, 176, have been confirmed or suspected to have involved great white sharks.

In June, a 39-year-old surfer from northern California was seriously injured when a tall white man bit him at Gray Whale Cove State Beach in San Mateo County. NBC Bay Area reported that the surfer was bitten on the back of his right thigh. He was treated with advanced resuscitation measures at the scene, officials said.