A swimmer off Manhattan Beach is in stable condition after being attacked by a great white shark Saturday morning.
KTLA reported that the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division’s spokesman Rick Flores said the shark was fighting off a fisherman’s hook when it bit the male swimmer in the upper torso.
Paddle boarders and surfers heard the man’s cries and rushed to his aid. Once ashore, the 40-year-old victim was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Lifeguards on the scene said that a fisherman had caught the shark about 40 minutes before the 9:20 a.m. incident and was attempting to reel it in. They estimated that the animal was between 7 and 10-feet long.
CBSLA noted that a two-mile stretch of beach was closed for several hours following the attack.
In a cell phone video taken by an eyewitness, people can be heard screaming and alerting other swimmers of the shark in the water.
Officials said that no other beachgoers were injured.