Shark Bumps Man Off Paddleboard, Attacks

A 25-year-old was critically injured in what is believed to be the first shark attack near Hawaii's Big Island in years. Authorities say the man was paddleboarding Saturday morning with his father near the Kukio private community when the shark bumped him off his board. "Apparently they had heard a scream from the ocean and (a private rescue team) took a four-man canoe out to find a male individual who had been bumped off his paddle board about 100-150 yards offshore," Fire Capt. Michael Grace tells KHON 2. "They recovered him from the ocean. He had injuries to his right side extremities."

The man told rescuers that the shark tore into him after making him lose his balance and fall off the board, the Washington Post reports. His father gave the same account of the incident. The injured man was airlifted to North Hawaii Community Hospital before being taken to Queens Medical Center on Oahu, reports Hawaii News Now. Officials say he lost part of his leg and had injuries to his right arm. The beach at Kukio and other nearby beaches were closed after the attack, but reopened Sunday after Hawaiian authorities searched for sharks from the air. (This novice surfer remembered a trick he had heard about when he was attacked by a shark.)