A woman who was swimming by herself at Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York, was reportedly bitten by a shark, and it’s believed that she lost “approximately 20 pounds of flesh” in the first shark attack in the area since 1953.
65-year-old Tatyana Koltunyuk was around Beach 59th Street before 6:00 PM Monday when she was attacked off the shore, losing a good portion of her left leg above the knee, according to The New York Post.
She was spotted in the water screaming for help by lifeguards, who pulled her to shore and provided her first aid.
Prior to first responders arriving at the scene, a tourniquet was applied to her leg to stop the bleeding.
Taken to Jamaica Hospital, staff said Tuesday that Koltunyuk is in stable but critical condition.
Woman suffers ‘major injury’ in apparent shark attack at Rockaway Beach https://t.co/9Vd1JmAe4f pic.twitter.com/fTl11Uim0V
— New York Post (@nypost) August 9, 2023
On the victim’s leg wound, the teeth marks indicated that Koltunyuk may have been attacked by a Thresher or bull shark, however, a great white could not be ruled out, according to the New York Post.
“[It’s] definitely a shark bite,” Dr. Gavin Naylor, the Program Director at the Florida Program for Shark Research, said to The Post after seeing a photo of the woman’s wound. (RELATED: Snake And Hawk Attack A Woman At The Same Time In True Tag Team Style)
“Looks as though it was a fairly clean single bite with some force. You can see the spacing between the teeth,” continued Naylor. He was unable “to narrow the species down,” saying that he would need to see the other side of Koltunyuk’s leg.