Teen loses arm to shark

A teen lost his arm to a shark off Oak Island, North Carolina.

Photo: WWAY

Hunter Treschel, 16, was in waist-deep water playing with his cousin just before 5:30 p.m., when he felt a something big hit his left leg.

A few seconds later, the shark hit his leg a second time before grabbing his arm and severing it near the elbow.

Treschel was helped out of the water by his cousin and given first-aid by Good Samaritans who wrapped up his arm using t-shirts and towels.

Emergency personnel responded just east of First Street near 55th Street and transported Treschel to the local hospital.

His left arm was amputated just above the elbow and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Red flags have been posted at most beaches in the area with warnings to avoid the water.

A second attack occurred about 90 minutes before and a few miles away at Ocean Crest Pier.

Around 4 p.m. Kiersten Yow, 12, was swimming when a shark grabbed her leg and then her left arm severing it near the elbow.

She was taken to New Hanover for emergency surgery and was later transferred to Children’s Hospital.

“This is the real deal threat,” George Burgess director of the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File told ABC. “This is highly unusual — I have seen this twice in 40 years. Once in Egypt and once in the Florida Panhandle.”

Most bites are mistaken identity by the sharks, which produce a hit and run type attack. The majority on the East coast are caused by black tip or spinner sharks. However, due to the severity of the injury, it is possible Trechel and Yow may have been a bull or tiger shark.

Last week a 13-year-old was bitten by a shark while boogie boarding around 30 miles South of Oak Island.

This is the 35 shark bite attack of 2015. Six of which were fatal The location has been marked on the 2015 Shark Attack Map.

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