Woman In Critical Condition After Shark Attack On New York Beach

For the fifth time this summer, a person has been attacked by a shark on a New York beach. This time, the swimmer was left in critical condition.

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Monday afternoon, at approximately 5:50pm, lifeguards pulled a 50-year old woman from the surf on the beach near 59th street. According to nydailynews.com, the swimmer suffered a "major injury" to her leg, as result of a shark attack.

The swimmer was given first aid on the beach and rushed to Jamaica Hospital in Queens and was reported to be in critical condition. According to nydailynews.com, the last non-fishing related shark attack off of a Rockaway Beach was in 1909. A 15-year old was bitten in 1953 while grabbing a shark he hooked by the tail...not a good idea. The shark bit the boy in his leg. On Monday night, the New York City Parks Department wanted to assure their swimmers this was a very rare occurrence.

Meghan Lalor, spokeswoman for the NYC Parks Department told nydailynews.com, “We hope for a full recovery for this swimmer. Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare. We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.” The Rockaway Beaches were closed on July 23rd because of shark sightings. State Police, along with the parks departments will continue to monitor Long Island's southern shores for shark activity. In the past 14 months, New York beaches have experienced more shark attacks than in the 100 previous years combined.