Man attacked by shark during group swimming on California beach

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The beaches of a Californian city have been closed to swimming after a man was attacked by a shark just 100 meters from shore.

The 46-year-old man, whose name was not released, was participating in a group swim along the Del Mar shoreline with about a dozen swimmers around 9 a.m. Sunday morning, the city of Del Mar said in a statement.

Just 100 meters from a beach safety center on the shore, he was suddenly attacked by a shark and bitten several times in the upper body, left arm and hand.

The man, a regular member of the ocean swimming group, managed to reach the shore with the help of his friends, CNN reported.

Lifeguards provided him with medical attention on the beach before he was quickly transported by ambulance to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.

The city said he suffered “significant” but not life-threatening injuries.

“He had obvious injuries from the incident that required surgery, mainly large lacerations,” Jon Edelbrock, the city’s director of social services and chief lifeguard, told CNN.

Edelbrock also told Fox5 that the victim’s condition was “stable”: “We are very happy and glad that he is OK.”

Following the attack, Del Mar lifeguards closed the beach to swimming and surfing for about a mile in both directions of the incident (from about 6th Street to North Beach), the city said.

The waters will remain closed until 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Researchers from the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach were on site to take water samples and analyze the man’s wetsuit. The goal was to find out what type of shark it was.

Chris Lowe, head of the Shark Lab, told CNN that it was most likely a young great white shark.

The researchers will be testing a new scientific tool to hopefully one day determine if this particular shark can be seen in the area in the future.

“We hope to use it in the future to monitor and assist lifeguards in managing the beaches,” Lowe said.

The attack came after another swimmer was attacked in the waters off Del Mar in November 2022.

In that incident, the woman said she was bitten on the thigh and shaken “like a dog” before the shark let go of her, ABC7 reported.