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STAR-ADVERTISER / OCT. 2012
A shark bit a kiteboarder on his right calf today at Kanaha Beach in Maui.
A male kiteboarder was bitten at about 3:19 p.m. Thursday by a shark at Ka`a Point area of Kanaha Beach Park in Kahului, fire and Department of Land and Natural Resources officials said.
Ocean Safety lifeguards on rescue watercraft spotted a 12- to 15-foot tiger shark in the water, DLNR said.
The man arrived on shore, calling for help and saying he had been bitten by a shark, a DLNR official said in an e-mail.
Ocean Safety lifeguards attended to the patient’s wound on his right calf and small cuts to his heel.
The patient was alert and told firefighters he got to shore by kiteboarding from a long distance out, a Maui fire official said in an e-mail.
He was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition.
A witness said the kiteboarder was about 300 yares offshore and had fallen into the water when he was bitten while holding onto the board, DLNR said.
Lifeguards closed down the beach, a mile in either direction, from Papa Ula Point off Stable Road to Pier 1 at Kahului Harbor, DLNR said.
DLNR aquatic resources and enforcement staff and lifeguards posted shark warning signs.
The beach will remain closed overnight and an assessment will be made in the morning. If there is no further sighting, the beach will reopen at noon.
