Tuesday, August 8, 2023 9:05AM
ROCKAWAY BEACH, Queens (WABC) — Rockaway Beach will open late Tuesday morning after a woman suffered an apparent shark bite Monday evening.
Police responded to Beach 59th Street and Rockaway Beach at just before 6 p.m. Monday. The woman, who may have been surfing, was bitten by a shark close to shore.
Officials say the victim is in serious, but stable condition at Jamaica Hospital. She was identified as a Queens resident in her 60s.
The Parks Department now working with the NYPD and the FDNY to beef up drone surveillance. They didn’t see any sharks last night, but it was a scary situation for beachgoers.
“Everybody was leaving the beach and they were just like, ‘don’t get in the water,’ and I was like, ‘what happened?’ Somebody got bit by a shark,” one beachgoer said.
Shark sightings in New York City are typically rare, but sharks have been swimming closer to shore in recent years with cleaner water and warmer temperatures. More than a dozen sharks have been tagged off the coasts of Long Island.
Officials say Rockaway Beach will have a delayed opening until at least 11 a.m.
Track shark activity here.
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