Shark Attack Update: North Carolina Victim Recovering
Some experts are now contending that the main reason two people were attacked by a shark in North Carolina earlier this week was because they were swimming at dusk--a time when sharks normally feed.
Sergei Zaloukaev was killed by a shark and his girlfriend, Natalia Slobanskaya, was critically injured as they swam along the North Carolina shore, the latest in a series of East Coast shark attacks and the second deadly one of the holiday weekend. Monday's attack, the first fatal one off North Carolina's coast in more than 40 years, came less than 2 days after a 10-year-old boy was killed by a shark near Virginia Beach, about 135 miles up the shore.
Witnesses on the beach rushed to help the couple and we interviewed them on the show Wednesday morning. One of the witnesses, Gary Harkin, tried to put a tourniquet on the male victim's leg, while his friend, Carolyn Richards, adminstered CPR. But Sergei died of massive blood loss. This shark attack is believed to be the first attack on the North Carolina coast this year.
Officials don't know how far out the couple was swimming when attacked. Bystanders jumped into the water and dragged them to shore and were administering first aid when rescue workers arrived.
Gary Harkin said that Sergei was still alive and talking when he was pulled to shore and that he appeared to have lost his right foot and finger. Natalia lost her left foot and lost her left buttock and part of her left thigh. Both couples also had multiple bites on their legs.
Coast Guard aircraft are patrolling off the Cape Hatteras National Seashore with crews and a marine biologist, watching for sharks. We don't know yet what type of shark or sharks attacked the couple but there are three types of sharks common to that area along the Outer Banks: sand tiger, bull, and scalloped hammerheads. Beaches were kept open but officials advised swimmers to be cautious, especially near dusk and dawn when sharks look for food near the shore.
There had been no reports of anyone seeing any sharks in the area before the attacks, officials said, but there have been sightings in recent days.
There have been only 19 recorded attacks--including the two Monday--in North Carolina waters since 1970. But five nonfatal attacks were reported last year, giving the state the second-highest number of incidents; Florida posted 34.
Monday's attack came just as the local and national news media were attempting to downplay the heavy coverage of Friday's fatal attack in Virginia Beach.
Dr. Jeffrey Riblet is a trauma surgeon at the hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, where Natalia is recovering and was on the show Tuesday morning to talk about her injuries. He is coming back to update her condition since she was removed from a ventilator yesterday and appears to be recovering quite well from her injuries.
She is still critical, but Riblet expects her to recover fully. He says Natalia is stable and the threat to her life is overShe lost her left foot so it will be a while before doctors will be able to see if she can walk. She'll need a prosthetic foot.
The ultimate goal is to get her wounds healed and closed. She's got a big wound in her buttocks. The shark tore off her butt cheek and we're not sure how damaged her nerves are. She eventually will be able to sit up. She lost a liter and half of blood and had to have eight blood transfusions. She can move her leg but it's too early to tell if she can bear weight.
She's talking but we're not talking too much to her about what happened. She does know that her fiance is dead. She speaks English, but it is very broken. She understands what is said to her. It's going to be a long road. She'll be hospitalized for several more weeks at least.
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