Florida: Three swimmers injured in two consecutive shark attacks

• On Friday, two shark bite incidents occurred in Florida within 90 minutes.
• As a result of the attacks, two people are in serious condition and a third person is in stable condition.
• Florida consistently ranks at the top of the world list for the number of shark bites.

Three people were injured on Friday in two shark bite incidents just 90 minutes apart on two different beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Two people are in critical condition and a third is in stable condition, Fire Chief Ryan Crawford of the South Walton Fire District said at a press conference.

The first incident left a 45-year-old woman with “significant midsection and pelvic injuries and an amputation of her left forearm,” Crawford said. The woman, who had just been swimming with her husband past the first sandbar, was flown by helicopter to a local hospital for treatment, he said.

The second attack involved two girls, ages 15 to 17, who were swimming with friends in waist-deep water just inside the first sandbar. One victim suffered “severe injuries to an upper and lower extremity” and the other had “flesh lacerations to her foot,” Crawford said.

Although the risk of a shark attack is extremely low, Florida, famous for its beaches and year-round sunshine, consistently ranks at the top of the world list for the number of shark bites.

According to a comprehensive database of all known shark attacks compiled by staff at the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were 69 unprovoked shark bites on humans and 22 provoked bites worldwide in 2023.

The 16 cases in Florida in 2023 represent 44% of the total in the United States and 23% of unprovoked bites worldwide.

Volusia County on Florida’s east coast – which includes the famous beaches of Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach – is called the “shark bite capital of the world” because 343 shark bites were recorded here between 1882 and 2023.

In an interview with Business Insider last year, Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program of Shark Research, said in an email that a combination of factors off the coast of Volusia increased the likelihood of a shark attack.

These included high densities of mullet and menhaden baitfish and plenty of good waves for surfing. The choppy waters resulted in poor visibility for sharks, which on rare occasions accidentally bite arms and legs dangling from surfboards while hunting their natural prey in the murky waters, Naylor said.

Blacktip and bull sharks are responsible for most attacks in Florida.

September is the month when shark attacks most frequently occur in the Sunshine State.and the highest probability of bites occurs between 2 and 3 p.m. in Volusia County, according to ISAF statistics.