Another shark story (bad one -- people attacked by shark).
June 10, 2000
Two Injured in Gulf Shark Attack
Filed at 10:43 a.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) -- A shark attacked two men in shallow water off
one of the Gulf Coast's most popular beaches, closing a 30-mile stretch of
land at the height of tourist season.
One of the men lost an arm in the attack, which occurred around 6:45 a.m.
Friday.
Officials who monitor shark activity said it was the state's first unprovoked
attack in 25 years, and only the second since 1900.
The men were training for a triathlon and part of a group swimming just east
of the Gulf Shores public beach, officials said.
The victims were finally pulled out of the rolling surf just east of the Pink
Pony Pub, one of the most popular beach bars on the Alabama coast.
``Oh, my God, you should have seen it ... blood everywhere,'' said Bill
Walters, a construction worker who witnessed the attack.
The two victims were in stable condition following surgery at South Baldwin
Regional Medical Center in Foley, hospital spokeswoman Donna McFarland
said.
Chuck Anderson, 44, a coach and vice principal at nearby Robertsdale High
School, lost his right arm above the elbow. Richard Watley, a 53-year-old
Gulf Shores barber, was bitten on his right hip and right arm, she said.
It wasn't immediately known what kind of shark attacked the men. Bob
Shipp, chairman of marine science at the University of South Alabama in
Mobile, said it could have been a bull shark. Such sharks are known to
frequent warm Gulf waters during summer months.
Police closed public beaches to swimmers from Fort Morgan to the Florida
state line, about 30 miles, posting red flags along the sugar-white sand.
An airplane carrying biologists flew over the beach twice Friday looking for
sharks and large schools of fish, said Vernon Minton, director of the marine
resources division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources.
Minton said the flights would continue twice a day until waters are
considered safe enough to reopen the public beaches.
``We're not getting in the water or near it,'' said Tonya Herren of Tuscaloosa,
who was at the beach with her sister and her four children.
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company |
