Surfer bitten, board snapped by shark off Northern California: studies

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A surfer was bitten by a shark that broke his board in Northern California this week, within the state's first shark incident of the yr.

"It was like being hit by a automobile," Tommy Civik informed Bay Metropolis Information, in accordance with SFGate of the incident in Mendocino County, north of San Francisco. "Hastily, I used to be shot out of the water."

South Coast Fireplace Safety District Chief Jason Warner informed SFGate that his workforce responded to a seashore in Gualala, California, earlier than 9 a.m. on Tuesday, and bystanders informed him {that a} "large" shark "hit the surfer and the surfboard, threw the surfer up within the air a bit, and broke the board in half."

He stated it "latched on to half of the board and [was] sort of thrashing it round."

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A surfer was bitten by a shark that broke his board in Northern California this week, within the state's first shark incident of the yr. (South Coast Fireplace Safety District)

Civik informed the Los Angeles Occasions that he by no means noticed the shark.

"My board snapped in half on influence," he stated. "My buddy watching stated that I flew within the air. I’m nonetheless piecing collectively what occurred. …The entire thing was so jarring, I used to be simply making an attempt to get away."

Peter Tira with the California Division of Fish and Wildlife informed SFGate that Civik wanted stitches and DNA from his wound will likely be used to establish what kind of shark attacked him.

"I used to be unbelievably fortunate," Civik informed The Occasions. "My board took all of the influence, and the enamel simply grazed me," Civik stated. "I had fairly a little bit of adrenaline, and since I might stroll, I drove myself to the hospital."

"It was like being hit by a automobile," Tommy Civik stated "Hastily, I used to be shot out of the water." (South Coast Fireplace Safety District)

His buddy Marco Guerrero informed the Occasions he noticed the shark attacking what he at first thought was a seal.

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"I simply bear in mind Tommy saying, ‘I’ll meet you on the market,’ and suiting up. I used to be looking on the waves once I noticed the beating," he defined. "I stated, ‘Oh that’s a shark assault,’ pondering it was attacking a seal. I didn’t notice it was Tommy."

After the assault, Civik stated he "simply put [his] head down and swam, quick."

The solar units in Gualala, California. (George Rose/Getty Photographs)

"I didn’t know the place the shark was, so I simply centered on getting away," he informed The Occasions. "After a minute, I noticed that if the shark [had] wished to chew me once more, it might’ve. All of it occurred so quick."

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Civik’s assault comes lower than a month after an open ocean swimmer was killed by a shark in Santa Cruz County , and following a file yr for shark incidents in 2025.

"Nonetheless, there have been solely 3 incidents with accidents final yr, far beneath the best yr, which was 1974 with 7 accidents confirmed," Tira informed SFGate.