In Rarity, Shark Bites Woman at NYC Beach

A woman was critically injured when a shark bit her on the leg while she was swimming at a New York City beach, per the AP. The 50-year-old woman was swimming off Rockaway Beach just before 6pm Monday when a shark bit her on the left leg, the city parks department said in a statement. Lifeguards pulled the woman from the water and administered first aid. The woman was taken to Jamaica Hospital in critical but stable condition with severe lacerations to her thigh, a police spokesperson said. Police used a helicopter to search the area for sharks but did not find any.

As a precaution, Rockaway Beach was closed to swimming and surfing on Tuesday. The shark bite occurred amid a rise in shark sightings at New York City and Long Island beaches thanks to factors including improved water quality and thriving populations of the bunker fish that sharks feed on. The bite at Rockaway Beach was the first reported in "recent memory," the parks department said. However, there have been at least five instances of sharks biting swimmers and surfers at Long Island beaches this summer. None were fatal.

(More shark attack stories.)