Shark Attack at Rockaway Beach
On Monday, there was a shark attack at Rockaway Beach. This is the first serious shark attack in New York City in decades. The incident happened at the Beach 59th Street entrance just before 6 P.M. Tatyana Koltunyuk, the 65 year-old woman, was standing in the water when she felt something sharp against her left leg. Soon after, she fell backwards into the waves and started to scream for help.
Rockaway Beach Shark Attack
The lifeguards at Rockaway Beach jumped to action and helped Koltunyuk out of the water. According to the chief lifeguard Jose Diaz, “The blood was coming out a lot so they gave her a tourniquet with the buoy, which has a rope, and they tied it so she doesn’t bleed to death.” The 68 year-old lifeguard said that he has never seen something like this in his 50 years on duty. “She lost a lot of blood. The artery came right out. You could see the bones and everything. It was crazy.”
Once the ambulance came, they helped the victim at the beach before taking her to Jamaica Hospital. According to the medics, Tatyana Koltunyuk lost about 20 pounds of flesh due to the shark attack at Rockaway Beach. The renowned pianist and daughter, Dasha Koltunyuk, released a statement saying, “Our mother is grateful to be alive … and we’re all thankful to the lifeguards, emergency response workers, and team at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.”
Due to this shark attack, Rockaway Beach was closed on Tuesday and reopened on Wednesday. Jones Beach was also closed on Tuesday due to a shark sighting. NYPD and FDNY will be scanning the beach daily for shark activity using drones in order to prevent another serious shark attack. The Ukranian immigrant and Astoria, Queens native Tatyana Koltunyuk is still recovering from the shark attack.
