Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Wednesday, December 11, 2024 83° Today's Paper


Top News

Shark bite victim flown from Palmyra Atoll to Oahu

COURTESY U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
“We started the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium around 2005. It took the consortium several years to learn the environment and appreciate the ways that it was surprisingly different

The Coast Guard says it evacuated a woman from a remote atoll 1,000 miles southwest of Honolulu after she was bit by a shark.

The Coast Guard said Monday the 37-year-old was bitten on her left hand near Palmyra Atoll.

A flight surgeon determined a medical evacuation was warranted due to the risk of infection and possible nerve and tendon damage.

The Coast Guard said the patient was a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researcher living on Palmyra. She was bitten by a black tip reef shark while tagging sharks.

An HC-130 Hercules airplane flew from Air Station Barbers Point to Palmyra Atoll on Sunday to pick up the patient and bring her to Oahu. An ambulance took her from Barbers Point to Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center for further treatment.

Comments are closed.