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A 27-year-old man was in serious condition Sunday after being bitten on the leg by a tiger shark off the north shore of Hawaii island, the Hawaii Fire Department said.
The Kapaau man was spearfishing about 60 yards off Upolu Point in North Kohala when he reports a 13-foot-long tiger shark bit his left leg, said Dan Dennison of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. He was able to swim to shore and alerted his fishing companion who called 911.
HFD Battalion Chief Joseph Farias said firefighters reached the man near the 21-mile marker on Akoni Pule Highway as the man was in the back of a truck, traveling to meet with arriving firefighters.
Paramedics took the man to Kamehameha Park, where a fire helicopter picked him up and took him to North Hawaii Community Hospital in serious condition.
It was the second shark attack in waters around Hawaii island this year. In March, a Kansas doctor was bitten by a tiger shark about 8 to 10 feet long. He sustained lacerations to his left forearm, hand, and thigh while standing in four to five feet of water.
So far this year, there have been four shark-related incidents in Hawaii, including a fatal one in Maui waters. Margaret Cruse was snorkeling when she was fatally bitten by a shark at Ahihi Bay on April 29.
