HANALEI BAY, Hawaii (KHON) – Kauai’s Hanalei Bay remains closed until further notice after a surfer was bitten by a shark on Wednesday, leaving him with multiple leg injuries.
Loved ones have confirmed the surfer is 33-year-old Kauai Ocean Safety lifeguard Chance Swanson.
Swanson was not on duty on Wednesday and went surfing with friends at the spot known as “Middles.” His friends eventually paddled back in but Swanson stayed out in the water.
Kauai Ocean Safety Bureau Chief Kalani Vierra said a bystander noticed something strange in the area Chance was surfing and quickly notified lifeguards at the tower.
“The lifeguards looked with the binoculars and noticed that Chance was floating on his back with a big red stain around him,” Chief Vierra explained. “They went out immediately, and obviously they noticed that he was attacked by shark, and they put on a tourniquet right away.”
Ocean Safety launched skis right away. According to Kauai County officials, the incident happened around 3:10 p.m.
“He was, you know, getting going in and out of consciousness and going into shock,” Vierra said.
Then Chance’s mother received the phone call.
“He said ‘Rose, it’s bad, Chance got bit by a shark,’ and that’s like the worst call you can get as a mom and I have three boys that are always surfing and it’s my biggest fear and I just panicked,” explained Rose Keaweamahi-Hoovler. “I thought he was dead because he lost so much blood.”
“Four of the doctors said without the tourniquets, Chance wouldn’t be here, so those lifeguards … saved his life,” she added.
Swanson was flown by helicopter to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu for surgery.
He has undergone surgery to repair an artery in his calf as well as surgery on his tibia where the shark bit through to the bone.
At this time, officials said there is no information on the type or size of the shark involved in this incident. The day before the attack, Kauai Ocean Safety spotted a 10-foot tiger shark in the same area. When ocean safety patrolled the area again on Thursday they said there was a shark still in the area.
A GoFundMe for the victim has been set up to assist with medical costs as well as time off of work.
According to state data, there have now been 169 shark incidents statewide since 1995.
The data shows:
- 11 incidents have happened during the month of January
- 8 incidents have happened during the month of February
- 16 incidents have happened during the month of March
- 12 incidents have happened during the month of April
- 12 incidents have happened during the month of May
- 11 incidents have happened during the month of June
- 9 incidents have happened during the month of July
- 11 incidents have happened during the month of August
- 15 incidents have happened during the month of September
- 32 incidents have happened during the month of October
- 16 incidents have now happened during the month of November
- 16 incidents have happened during the month of December
The majority of incidents happened during peak Tiger shark pupping season in October.