RODANTHE, N.C., June 28 (UPI) -- A 17-year-old boy was critically injured when he was bitten by a shark off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks, making him the second person injured by a shark in the area in as many days.
The victim, who was not identified, was swimming near the Cape Hatteras KOA campground near Waves, N.C. about 4 p.m. Saturday when he was injured, the National Park Service said..
Officials said he received injuries to his right calf, buttock and both hands. He was taken by helicopter to a Norfolk, Va. hospital were he underwent surgery. By 11 p.m. Saturday, his condition was upgraded from critical to serious. The boy was among a group swimming in the waters, but no one else was injured.
He is the seventh person injured by a shark bite off the coast of the Carolinas in recent weeks.
Friday, one man sustained leg and lower back injuries when he was attacked off the coast of Avon, N.C., and another was treated for minor injuries after his attack off Hunting Island, S.C. Those incidents follow at least four other shark attacks in the region this month.
On June 14, a 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy were attacked in the same location near Oak Island, N.C., within an hour of each other -- and both lost part of an arm, officials said. The type of shark or sharks involved in the attacks were not specified.
Doug G. Ware contributed to this report
