California (Kcal, KCBS) – A man who swims early on the coast of Catalina Island on Tuesday morning was bitten by a shark.
Swimmer Chris Murray, who was visiting from the United Kingdom, tried to swim the 20 miles between Catalina Island and the coast of Los Angeles County when the shark bit him.
“We think it was a respectful youth white shark,” Murray wrote on social media. “My crew was the first class in their response to the incident. I was pretty surprised for myself. I managed to get the shark from my hand and kick it when it clamped on my foot.”
The submarine called Bottom Scratcher, who accompanied him, immediately pulled him out of the water, connected the injury and stood for help. Around 1:20 am they met the Los Angeles Fire Department boats at sea.
“A 3-to-4-foot white shark squeezed his leg and then went up,” said Shaun Corby, a pilot of a fireboat.
The swimmer was transferred to San Pedro before he was later taken to a hospital.
Fire brigade officers describe the bite as less small and non-lifferring. They add that this type of incident is extremely rare and there are only about 15 documented shark bites in the LA region since 1950. At that time there are just over 200 documented bites in the entire state.
Harvey is planning to swim in the same waters with two other people on Tuesday evening.
According to the Catalina Channel Swimming Federation, this long-distance challenge is a 20-mile open-water crossing of the island back to the mainland. It starts at midnight and is known for rough currents and large pacific swellings.
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