Californian city closes its beaches after gruesome shark attack

The California city of Del Mar announced on Sunday that all beaches would be closed to swimming and surfing after a competitive swimmer was bitten by a shark near the shore.

Authorities said the unidentified 46-year-old man was participating in a group training swim at 9 a.m. when he was bitten by the animal on the upper body, left arm and left hand.

He suffered “significant injuries, but these are probably not life-threatening,” the city said in a press release.

“There was severe bleeding, so they believed it was probably an arterial wound in the left hand and wrist area,” said Jonathan Edelbrock, Del Mar’s chief lifeguard and director of community services. The San Diego Union-Tribune“He certainly had significant injuries to his upper body.”

Edelbrock added that authorities believed the animal was a juvenile great white shark that was about 2.5 meters long.

It was the first shark encounter in the city in 2024 – the last attack occurred on November 4, according to the Union Tribunein which it was reported that a 50-year-old woman was bitten in the leg while swimming with a friend and suffered minor injuries.

The Del Mar Beach closure is expected to remain in place for at least 48 hours – until 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 4.

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