Updated at 6:23 p.m., Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Boy suffers only minor injury in Hawaii shark attack
Advertiser Staff
A 15-year-old boy was bitten by a shark yesterday while bodysurfing near the Crouching Lion restaurant in Ka'a'awa but suffered only a minor foot injury.Randy Honebrink, of the state Department of Land & Natural Resources Shark Task Force, said the boy was 400 yards offshore when he felt something "slice" at his foot before seeing the foot in the mouth of a shark.
The boy kicked the shark with his other foot, causing it to swim away.
The incident was reported at 4:30 p.m.
The shark is believed to be a 12-foot tiger shark, based on the boy's description, Honebrink said.
The state official said he believes the boy kicked at the shark at about the same time the shark opened its mouth, which is a very unusual happening.
Honebrink said the boy was treated for injuries at a nearby fire station before his parents took him to Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center for further examination.
