The attack was likely made by a tiger shark. Image: Wikimedia Commons
A 65-year-old man is dead after an apparent shark attack off Maui on Saturday. According to the Maui Fire Department, the victim, whose name has not been released, was swimming in the water off the Kaanapali Shore Resort when the attack occurred.
The man was vacationing in Maui from California with his wife at the time. Witnesses described a harrowing scene. “They pulled the man up. He looked unconscious when they transferred him to the other gurney. And we could see that they were trying to do CPR on him,” said witness Allison Keller to Hawaii News Now.
Despite rescuers’ efforts, the man could not be revived. “As we got closer, I saw some blood on his stomach and then I got looking a little bit more and his wrist, it looked like the skin on his wrist was just torn off,” Keller continued. “And then I got looking closer and his entire left leg from his knee down was just missing. There was no blood or anything.”
According to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Resources, it was the sixth shark attack in Hawaii this year. While the type of shark isn’t known for sure, one expert told KHON2 that it’s likely to have been a tiger shark.
Officials have not said what type of shark was involved in the attack, but shark expert Michael Domier told KHON2 that a tiger shark could be to blame. “Maui has for some reason been a hot spot in the Hawaiian islands for tiger shark attacks, and I don’t think anybody can really say with any certainty why that is,” shark expert Michael Domier said. “There’s certainly great tiger shark habitat on Maui, a lot of shallow water, but a lot of people in the water, too.”
