HONOLULU, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Washington state kayaker died of injuries he received when he was bitten by a shark off the Hawaiian coast, Maui County officials said.
Maui County Ocean Safety officials said they received a report Monday Patrick A. Briney, 57, of Stevenson, Wash., was fishing in his kayak between Maui and Molokini Island when he was bitten by a shark, CNN reported.
A friend kayaking with Briney took him to a nearby tour boat, which transported them to shore. The friend said Briney was fishing when the shark bit his foot dangling in the water, CNN said.
Briney died before reaching shore, Maui County officials said.
William Dunaway of Walnut Creek, Calif., who was on the dive boat that brought Briney to shore, told CNN, as the vessel approached, "we saw that his foot was missing and his leg was pretty shredded. And from the color of his body I think it looked like, mostly likely, he was probably dead already."
The Division of Aquatic Resources said it was the 13th reported shark incident statewide this year, and the eighth on Maui. In the last 20 years, Hawaii has averaged about four unprovoked shark incidents a year.
