Shark attack today: a woman bitten twice while she was swimming in Kealakekua Bay in Hawaii

A woman was taken to hospital Tuesday after being bitten twice by a shark while swimming in Hawaii, authorities said. The 27-year-old woman would be in "good health" and should be released after a shark bit her while swimming in Kealakekua Bay on the west side of Big Island, hurt her lower back and right hip. said the police.

Shortly after the woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition, preliminary information provided to the firefighters indicated that she was 26 years old and that the shark had bitten her on the leg and torso said the head of the Hawaii Fire Department, William Bergin. She was about 50 meters from the shore, he said. The victim has not been identified.

Bergin did not know if she was a tourist or a resident of Hawaii. "The shark is still in the area, so we are trying to get people out of the water right now," he said.

Police said that witnesses described the shark as having a gray tip. Bergin said that he had been told that it was perhaps a reef shark at black dot.

The bay will remain closed until at least Wednesday noon. Shark warning signs were posted on both sides of Kealakekua Bay Historical Park.

"According to local fishermen, there are a lot of fish in the area, so it attracts a lot of sharks and dolphins that give birth," said Bergin.

The heavy breaker also causes poor visibility in the water, he said.

It was the ninth shark meeting reported by state officials this year, including a fatal accident. A man from California aged 65 dead after a little shark him while he was swimming in a Maui beach park in May. Last week, a surfer in troubled waters off the west coast of Oahu escaped his injuries when a shark bit on his surfboard.

Three incidents were reported last year and five in 2017.