A young German woman was snorkeling about 50 yards offshore at Palauea Beach on South Maui when she was critically injured by a shark attack, the Associated Press and Seattle Times reported on Friday. The 20-year-old woman was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center and was listed in critical condition.
When the attack occurred, bystanders on shore heard the woman scream, and put her on a kayak and brought her to land, Lee Mainaga, the fire services chief at the Maui Fire Department said. Her right arm was severed below the shoulder, he said.
"We will try to speak to the victim when she is cleared to speak with us," Deborah Ward, the Department of Land and Natural Resources said.
The attack is the second in two days in Maui. A shark bit an unmanned kite-board at Ka'aa Point. The boarder was able to flee from the shark in time.
Six shark attacks have occurred in Hawaii thus far in 2013, including three in Maui, according to a state database. 11 shark attacks took place in 2012.
In April, 2004, 57-year-old Willis McInnis died by a shark attack when he surfed off Pohaku Park in Maui. The 14-inch bit wound in his right thigh led to a severe loss of blood, leading to his death.
The Palauea Beach has since been reopened for the first time since this week's shark attack. Authorities have advise snorkelers and surfers to be accompanied by 'buddies,' and to avoid the water at dawn and dusk, as precautionary measures.
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