(Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i) – A 68-year-old woman was seriously injured after an apparent shark bite at Anaeho’omalu Bay on the Kohala coast. Official say the incident happened at approximately 8 a.m.
The captain of an ocean sports vessel reported the incident, after hearing calls for help coming from a woman near a channel marker, an estimated 600-feet offshore. A tender from the Spirit of Aloha tour vessel was used to take the woman to shore, where she was transported to North Hawai‘i Community Hospital in Waimea.
A Hawai‘i Fire Department (HFD) helicopter flew over the area and its crew did not spot any shark activity. The DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE), in conjunction with Hawai‘i County authorities have placed shark warning signs, one-mile, on either side of Anaeho‘omalu Bay. Signs will remain in place until Sunday, after a the Hawaii County Fire Department does another surveillance flight over the area.