http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/04/fatal-shark-att.html
Original posting at 12:38 p.m. ET: A shark killed a man who was swimming today in waters off the coast of San Diego.
The Union Tribune says a Coast Guard helicopter is helping with the hunt for the shark.
"It is not an active search-and-rescue," Coast Guard Petty Officer Clinton Dotson tells the paper. "We will help clear the area ... and see if we can spot the culprit."
The sheriff's office tells KGTV-TV that the waters are temporarily off-limits to swimmers between Del Mar and Solana Beach.
Update at 2:04 p.m. ET: The San Diego Sheriff's Department issued the following statement about the shark attack, which occurred in Solana Beach, Calif.:
On April 25, 2008, at about 7:21 a.m. a 66-years old white male swimmer (resident of Solana Beach) was in a group of 9 swimmers who started out at Solana Vista and was swimming north, when he was bitten across both thighs by what is believed to be a great white shark. Some of the other swimmers looked back to see the victim up out of the water flailing and was pulled back under the water. He came up screaming and was helped to shore by four of the swimmers. The life guards drove him in a truck down to Fletcher Cove, where Mercy Air was called in. The life guards initiated CPR; however, the swimmer exsanguinated and died without being able to be airlifted to the hospital.
The local Fox station says San Diego's last fatal shark attack took place in 1959, but the AP says there was one in 1994.
KNSD-TV reports that today's victim, who has not been publicly identified, was a 66-year-old member of the Triathalon Club of San Diego.
We're waiting for officials to brief reporters on their investigation. You can watch the raw feed.
Learn more about recent shark attacks at the Swim at Your Own Risk blog.
Update at 2:51 p.m. ET: The victim was identified as Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian.
Richard Rosenblatt, a marine biologist, says his examination suggests Martin was almost certainly attacked by a great white shark between 12 and 17 feet long.
"It was typical great white shark behavior to attack from below, take a bite and then draw away," he says.
Original posting at 12:38 p.m. ET: A shark killed a man who was swimming today in waters off the coast of San Diego.
The Union Tribune says a Coast Guard helicopter is helping with the hunt for the shark.
"It is not an active search-and-rescue," Coast Guard Petty Officer Clinton Dotson tells the paper. "We will help clear the area ... and see if we can spot the culprit."
The sheriff's office tells KGTV-TV that the waters are temporarily off-limits to swimmers between Del Mar and Solana Beach.
Update at 2:04 p.m. ET: The San Diego Sheriff's Department issued the following statement about the shark attack, which occurred in Solana Beach, Calif.:
On April 25, 2008, at about 7:21 a.m. a 66-years old white male swimmer (resident of Solana Beach) was in a group of 9 swimmers who started out at Solana Vista and was swimming north, when he was bitten across both thighs by what is believed to be a great white shark. Some of the other swimmers looked back to see the victim up out of the water flailing and was pulled back under the water. He came up screaming and was helped to shore by four of the swimmers. The life guards drove him in a truck down to Fletcher Cove, where Mercy Air was called in. The life guards initiated CPR; however, the swimmer exsanguinated and died without being able to be airlifted to the hospital.
The local Fox station says San Diego's last fatal shark attack took place in 1959, but the AP says there was one in 1994.
KNSD-TV reports that today's victim, who has not been publicly identified, was a 66-year-old member of the Triathalon Club of San Diego.
We're waiting for officials to brief reporters on their investigation. You can watch the raw feed.
Learn more about recent shark attacks at the Swim at Your Own Risk blog.
Update at 2:51 p.m. ET: The victim was identified as Dave Martin, a retired veterinarian.
Richard Rosenblatt, a marine biologist, says his examination suggests Martin was almost certainly attacked by a great white shark between 12 and 17 feet long.
"It was typical great white shark behavior to attack from below, take a bite and then draw away," he says.