This week, two swimmers escaped shark bites at South Carolina’s most popular beach.
Police told media outlets that two persons were assaulted in Myrtle Beach on Monday, with one sustaining a major forearm injury and the other a less severe leg bite.
The incidents occurred around one kilometer apart in the ocean, and authorities say it is impossible to determine if they are linked.
Karen Sites of Pittsburgh required several sutures. She reported to WPDE-TV that she was bitten on the arm on the first day of her vacation with her 8-year-old grandson while in waist-deep water.
“I simply felt something bite me, and when I looked down, there was a shark on my arm,” said Sites.
According to Brian Sites, he heard his grandma scream. “I couldn’t even see the shark approaching; all I saw was that it leaped up and didn’t even bite,” he explained.
Human shark attacks are relatively uncommon. While millions of people enjoyed the sea in 2021, just 47 shark bites were documented at U.S. beaches, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File.
Last year, there were four documented shark attacks in South Carolina. Florida led the nation with 28, according to the organization.
Swimming precautions include avoiding the ocean at dawn or dusk, when sharks move closer to shore to eat, exiting the water when schools of fish are visible near the surf, and avoiding areas where people may be using bait to fish, according to experts.
After seeing his grandma get bitten, Brian Sites stated that he will modify his holiday plans.
He answered, “I’ll sit on the sand, but I’m not going in the water.”