"It was like we were coming out of this movie" Jaws "": a man dies after a shark attack in Cape Cod

WELLFLEET, Mass. – A man was bitten by a shark Saturday in the water off a Cape Cod beach and died later in a hospital, becoming the first shark attack death in over 80 years. The 26-year-old Revere man succumbed to his injuries after the attack off Newcomb Hollow Beach at Wellfleet around noon, said Lt. Michael Hurley of the Wellfleet Police.

Joe Booth, a local fisherman and surfer, said he was down when he saw the man and his friend get on board during the attack.

He said he saw the aggressor kick an aggressive person behind him and a flicker of a tail in the water. He realized what was happening when the friend arrived on shore dragging his injured friend.

"I was this guy on the beach screaming," shark, shark! "Booth says." It was like we were coming out of this movie Jaws. It turned into Amity Island very quickly. "

Booth said that other people on the beach tried to make a tourniquet while others frantically called 911.

Hayley Williamson, a resident of Cape Cod and a former lifeguard who was on the beach at the time, was incredulous after the man was transported in an ambulance.

"We surfed all morning here and they were just lower," she said of the two boarders. "In the right place, at the wrong time, I guess."

State police spokesman David Procopio said rescue measures had been attempted on the beach before the man was taken to Cape Cod hospital in Hyannis, where he was pronounced dead. The beach was closed to swimming.

The victim's family was informed of the death but his name was not disclosed, Procopio said.

Visitors to Newcomb Hollow Beach are greeted by a sign warning them of "Be Shark Smart," reports CBS Boston. The panel advises to avoid swimming near seals, to swim near the deep water coast and to swim or surf in groups.

"The coastal waters off Wellfleet are a feeding ground for great white sharks," says the panel. "They come to this area to feed on seals, great white sharks are predators and should be considered dangerous, encounters with sharks are rare, but please stay alert."

It was the first deadly shark attack in Massachusetts since 1936 and the second shark attack this season.

A 61-year-old New York man was seriously injured on August 1st5 after fighting a shark off Truro, about 4 miles north of Saturday's attack. He is currently recovering in a Boston hospital.

"Today, we only keep everyone out of the water," said Hurley. "There will be a determination later about what the city wants to do with the beaches to come."

Beachgoers said that Wellfleet Beach was popular with surfers and that the skies were sunny and the temperatures were hot on Saturday, so there was a lot of people, even though the summer season was over and the rescuers were there. no longer there.

There have been frequent shark sightings this summer along the Cape, often leading to beach closures. The National Parks Service, which runs many scenic beaches where white sharks tend to congregate, said it closed the beaches at least an hour or so ago this year, more than double the annual average.

A Cape Cod policy officer said officials who had not taken more aggressive measures against sharks were responsible for the fatal attack. Barnstable County Commissioner Ron Beaty said he had warned that something like this could happen and called for measures to reduce the number of white sharks.

"I personally believe that the responsibility for this horrific shark attack rests on the shoulders of the aforementioned officials for their total lack of attention and inaction on the growing problem of sharks in Cape Cod in recent years," he said.

On July 25, 1936, Joseph Troy Jr., 16, died in the waters of Mattapoisett.

Troy, from Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, was visiting an uncle and was swimming about 50 feet offshore when the shark attacked.