29 year Khanyisile Momoza was attacked and killed by a great white shark on September 21st, 2010. He swam 5km off of Pearly Beach, South Africa, with 11 others when he was attacked. The men were illegally poaching perlemoen (abalone). The survivors in the group were too scared to attempt to help Mr. Momoza. They alerted authorities to the incident when they reached shore.
18 year old surfer Caleb Kauchak was surfing with friends around 4 PM at the Sandbridge area of Virginia Beach, VA. Mr. Kauchak was in chest deep water when he felt a bite on his ankle. He jumped onto his surfboard and felt a second bite on his knee. At that point the shark released him and he went to shore. He was taken to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital where he was treated with 51 stitches.
An unidentified surfer was bitten by a shark at the south jetty at Ponce de Leon inlet at New Myrna beach on September 3rd, 2010. He was surfing about 300 yards from the south jetty. He was treated at Bert Fish Medical Center.
29 year old Jason Coffman was bitten on the arm while surfing at Ponce de Leon inlet at New Smyrna beach on September 3rd 2010. He did not see the shark coming. It latched onto his arm, let go, and then bit him again. He was treated with 24 stitches.
Bjorn Jensen was bitten by a shark while swimming on a whale watching expedition. He was busy watching a whale and its calf when the shark slammed into his foot. At first he thought he had hit his foot on some coral or possibly a whale. He was treated at the scene by fellow tourists including a doctor from Japan, and a nurse and psychologist from Australia.
He suffered four puncture wounds to his foot. He required multiple surgeries to repair the tendon in his ankle. He apparently had trouble getting medical attention due to religious practices in the area that frown upon working on Sundays.
Nicholas Edwards was surfing at South Point near Gracetown Australia when he was attacked and killed by a shark. The shark type is not known but a great white is suspected. Nearby surfers noticed his board that was nearly broken in half and thought he had wiped out. Later his body washed ashore covered in blood and missing a leg. They tried to perform CPR and had trouble getting emergency assistance due to lack of cell phone coverage in the area. Mr. Edwards was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The time of day and water conditions were not mentioned in any of the news stories that I read.
Australian Ben D’Emden was bitten on the face by a shark while on vacation at a remote resort at Solomon Islands. Details on this attack are scarce. The time of day, water conditions, and type of shark have not been reported. Mr. D’Emden was treated at Solomons’ National Referral Hospital and will survive the attack. He suffered lacerations to the face and neck.
While on vacation at Crescent Beach, Florida, 10 year old Seth Shorten was bitten by a shark while in waist deep water. The shark, which Seth said was about 3 feet long with a black head, bit his right heel and ankle. The attack occurred at approximately 9:30 AM while Seth was in the ocean with his father.
The type of shark may be identified based on a fragment of tooth found in Seth’s wounds.
25 year old Josh Clement was surfing at about 3 PM with friends off of Figure Eight Island, NC when he accidentally kicked a shark. He had jumped on to his board to paddle back out. The shark then bit his foot. Mr. Celement received 6 stitches. The size and type of the shark are not known.
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37 year old Kimberly Presser was apparently bitten by a shark on August 2nd, 2010. She was swimming in chest deep water at Mickler’s Landing, FL. She saw something come out of the water and threw her arm up. The fish bit her arm. The attack happened at about 11 AM. She was treated at the Jacksonville area Mayo Clinic. She received 150 stitches.
The shark was estimated to be between 4 and 5 feet in length. The attack occurred in clear water.
Updated 8/3/2010 to reflect name, age, and injury severity.
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