Florida Sees Three Shark Attacks In 90 Minutes

The Insider reports:

Three shark bite incidents just 90 minutes apart at two separate beaches on Florida’s Gulf coast, left three people injured on Friday. Two people are in a critical condition, and a third is in a stable condition, South Walton Fire District Fire Chief Ryan Crawford said at a news conference.

The first incident left a 45-year-old female with “significant trauma to the midsection and pelvic area as well as amputation of the left lower arm,” said Crawford.

The second attack involved two girls, 15-17 years old, who had been swimming with friends just inside the first sandbar in waist-deep water. One victim received “significant injuries to one upper and one lower extremity,” and the other had “flesh wounds on her foot,” said Crawford.

The Associated Press reports:

“All I can say is that these incidents are very rare,” said Demian Chapman, a scientist and director of the Center for Shark Research in Sarasota, Florida. “It’s even more rare to have two events in one day involving three people,” he told The Associated Press on Saturday. “That’s astronomically low odds of that happening.”

In Walton County, the sheriff’s office, fire department and the state’s wildlife agency were working together to patrol the water with boats and the shore with vehicles, the South Walton Fire District said in an update Saturday.

Shark attacks are rare, according to experts. There were 69 unprovoked bites last year worldwide, and 10 of those were fatal, according to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File. That was higher than the recent average of six deaths per year.