2 children injured in possible shark attacks off Fire Island

<p>Two children were injured in possible shark attacks Wednesday in waters off Fire Island.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 18, 2018, 4:57 PM

Updated 2,129 days ago

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Two children were injured in possible shark attacks Wednesday in waters off Fire Island.
Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter says a 13-year-old boy, who was at a town-run camp, was bitten while on a boogie board off Atlantique. That teen was taken to Southside Hospital with an injury that did not appear life-threatening. Chief lifeguard Craig Amarando said the boy had puncture wounds and that a shark tooth was found inside the boy.
Lola Pollina, 12, was bitten in the area of Sailors Haven, according to officials. The girl’s father, Philip Pollina, said his daughter was only 10 feet off the shore when the incident occurred.
“All of a sudden, I saw her panicking, and I saw something…flapping about,” he said. “She came running out of the water with pretty deep lacerations on her leg.”
Lola said that she saw a “tannish, orangey-looking body and a small fin” while she was in the water.
“When I got out, my leg was bloody and saw scratch marks,” she said.
Islip Town officials say two sharks were caught by fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean Wednesday afternoon. One was caught 50 yards east of Atlantique. The other was at Kismet Beach. There was no confirmation that those sharks were involved in the two attacks.
Both children are expected to be OK.
The Town of Islip closed all its ocean beaches in response to the incident. New York State Parks officials also announced that all beaches at Robert Moses were closed due to a reported shark sighting at Field 3.
The two Fire Island beaches where the incidents happened are about 4 miles apart.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement saying that he has deployed Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos to investigate the “apparent juvenile shark attacks off of Fire Island.”


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