Nov. 2 (UPI) — A 61-year-old man surfing on the Hawaiian island of Maui had has leg completely severed during a shark attack, local police say.
The local man, who was not identified by authorities, was surfing Friday morning at a Waiehu Beach Park spot known as “Sand Piles” when the attack happened, according to a statement released by County of Maui Police and Fire officials.
First responders were dispatched to the beach at 7:05 a.m. When they arrived, they saw the man had made his way to shore with the help of bystanders despite his leg being completely severed just below the knee. Two combat application tourniquets were applied to control bleeding, they said.
Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety Assistant Chief Jeff Giesea said the victim was alert while being treated onshore and was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition.
A GoFundMe page set up family members to help defray medical costs identified the victim as “Kenji.”
A “close friend” of the victim told KHON-TV Kenji was upgraded to stable condition after undergoing surgery Friday morning, adding the victim has been surfing the same Waiehu Beach area for 30 years.
Following the incident, the gate to Waiehu Beach Park was closed and all beachgoers were warned to stay out of the water from Paukūkalo to Waihe’e until further notice.
Maui Fire Department officials patrolled the scene with rescue watercraft and deployed a drone to monitor offshore waters for any shark activity.