Swimmer injured in shark attack off Southern California coast

A swimmer was seriously injured in a shark attack off the coast of Southern California, prompting the temporary closure of beaches, authorities said.

The attack occurred Sunday morning (local time) at Del Mar City Beach in Del Mar, about 20 miles north of San Diego, local officials said.

The 46-year-old man, an ocean swimmer who regularly trains at the beach, suffered significant but non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, city officials said.

The attack occurred about 100 yards from a lifeguard station on the beach. The swimmer was bitten on the torso, left arm and hand.

Authorities said the beach would remain closed to surfers and swimmers until Tuesday morning.

The man was attacked while swimming with about a dozen other people, said Jonathan Edelbrock, lifeguard supervisor and director of community services. Lifeguards were at the beach preparing for the day when they became aware of the situation.

No one saw the shark when the attack occurred, Edelbrock said. Since that was unsuccessful, the city subsequently also deployed a drone and a boat to search for the shark.

“The visibility in the water was really poor,” he said. “You just can’t see anything moving through the water column. In fact, the exact moment of the incident was the only interaction with the shark or the only sighting of it.”

Another swimmer was attacked by a shark and bitten in the upper thigh off the Del Mar coast in November 2022. A popular beach in San Clemente, 41 miles north of Del Mar, was also closed last week for Memorial Day after a shark knocked a surfer off his board.