A lifeguard with Shore Beach Services suffered a shark bite this morning while on duty at Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island.
Reports say after being treated on the beach, the lifeguard was flown to a Savannah hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening. He was bitten in the upper torso area (chest) and had several lacerations that were serious.
After the attack, the water was kept clear of swimmers for about 90 minutes.
It’s the second bite in the past week in the area. A surf instructor was bitten by a shark on Tybee Island last Tuesday as well. His injuries weren’t life threatening either.
But, a shark bite is a shark bite.
Make sure you’re careful and aware of your surroundings when swimming in the water at our local beaches.
Sharon Waclawski posted this on a local Hilton Head Facebook Group earlier this afternoon, after witnessing the attack herself.
Shark attacks on our local beaches are indeed very rare. The chances of being attacked by a shark are very small compared to other animal attacks, natural disasters or beach-side dangers. More people drown in the ocean every year than are bitten by sharks, by a large margin.
The few attacks that occur every year are an indication that sharks don’t feed on us and that most attacks that occur are simply due to mistaken identity.
Since records started being kept as early as 1817, our local area has seen only a few shark bites including two on Fripp Island, one on Hunting Island and two off of St Helena Island. At the other end of Beaufort County, Hilton Head’s beaches have seen several.
