NEW YORK — A woman was pulled from the water in Queens and rushed to a hospital after an apparent shark attack on one of the city’s most popular beaches, which will be closed Tuesday as a result.
The victim was swimming in Rockaway Beach near Beach 59th Street Monday when she was injured by what is believed to be a shark. Witnesses said they saw a female victim being carried away from the beach on a stretcher around 6 p.m.
A part of the boardwalk near the area was turned into a drone parking lot, where police sent hovercraft over the ocean in search of sharks.
Police said the 65-year-old woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition, later saying she was recovering from the serious injuries she sustained. As a result of the incident, authorities announced Tuesday morning that Rockaway Beach would be closed for the day.
“My girlfriend and I were about to jump into the water when a policeman flew by and said there had been a shark attack on the beach,” witness Chris Hage said.
Officially, the New York police classified the incident as a possible shark attack, but investigators said they had no doubt that the injury was the work of a shark.
