Police in the Florida Panhandle are on high alert after three shark attacks in one day left one woman seriously injured and two teenage girls injured on the same coastline.
Authorities temporarily closed the beach and are patrolling the waters following the incident, which left a 45-year-old woman seriously injured and required doctors to amputate part of her left arm.
Swimming has since resumed, but police say swimmers should remain vigilant.
“The Walton County Sheriff’s Office Coastal Marine Unit continues to monitor shorelines and beaches Saturday following a shark incident on Friday in Walton County.” The ministry said in a Facebook post.
“Police found a 14-foot hammerhead shark off a boat this morning east of South County Highway 395 in Santa Rosa Beach. This is not uncommon,” the post continued. “We would like to reiterate that sharks are always present in the Gulf of Mexico. Swimmers and beachgoers should use caution when swimming and be aware of their surroundings at all times.”
Authorities have put up red and purple flags on the beach to warn swimmers – red indicates high danger and purple indicates the presence of dangerous marine life.
In a separate Facebook post, the sheriff’s office urged visitors to be aware of their surroundings and “remember, we are guests in the Gulf Coast community.” [of Mexico]. ”
The most seriously injured woman, a 45-year-old woman, was attacked by the shark while swimming with her husband at Water Sound Beach in Walton County around 1:15 p.m. Friday, South Walton Fire Chief Ryan Crawford told reporters.
The attack left the victim with “significant trauma” to his body and later required the amputation of part of his left arm, the chief said. According to ABC News:.
She was transported by helicopter to HCA Fort Walton Destin Hospital in critical condition.
About an hour and a half later, two young people who were swimming with friends in waist-deep water near Inlet Beach, about four miles away, were attacked by a shark. Officials.
Both girls, aged 15 and 17, were injured, one of them with “serious injuries” to her thigh and hand, Crawford said.
Two doctors who were holidaying with her happened to be in the water during the attack and provided potentially life-saving treatment to the injured girl.
Ryan Forbes and Muhammad Ali were boogie boarding in the water with their kids when they heard panic on shore. According to News 5 WKRG.
“We all started to get out of the water,” Forbes said. “I grabbed my son, he grabbed my daughter, and then just as we got to the beach I looked to my left and saw the water all red and murky from a shark attack.”
Once on the beach, the medics worked with other paramedics and trauma nurses who happened to be on the scene to help the seriously injured girl.
“When I saw her and saw the severity of her injuries I realised that anyone with medical knowledge needed to help,” Ali told the network.
They wrapped tourniquets around her thighs and hands and continued to apply pressure to the bleeding wounds.
Forbes and Ali said they did not know the other medical professionals they were working with, but they worked seamlessly together.
“we [have] I’ve worked with them for years,” Forbes said.
“It was amazing,” Forbes added, “and in a way… it was God’s will that everyone came to help at the same time.”
The victim was transported by helicopter to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola Hospital in serious condition.
Paramedics transported her friend, who only suffered minor injuries to her leg, to a local hospital for treatment.
“This is an extraordinary situation … from the fact that there are three victims to where they are right now,” Walton County Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson Jr. told reporters. “All we can do is respond, control and mitigate as much damage as we can.”
Addickinson Jr. said the last shark attack in the county was in 2021. The last fatal shark attack was in 2005.
