There was blood within the water and two heroes on the sand.
A pair of fast-thinking Rockaway Beach lifeguards used a pair of sweatpants and the rope from an orange rescue float to cease the bleeding of a 65-year-old shark assault sufferer, with the predator’s fierce tooth exposing the girl’s femur, the mom of 1 rescuer advised the Daily News on Tuesday.
“Their quick thinking saved that woman’s life,” mentioned Janet McDonnell, whose son Bill sprang into motion with a co-worker after the shark tore off a piece of the sufferer’s flesh above the left knee whereas she swam alone about 50 toes from shore.
“He didn’t think she was going to make it,” the proud mom recounted. “She was bleeding profusely. He said he was just holding her hand … They actually thought she was going to bleed out on the beach in front of everybody.”
The 24-year-old McDonnell and the second rescuer, Romeo Ortize, sprung into motion simply 10 minutes earlier than the 6 p.m. closing time.
The deep chew turned the water a shiny pink earlier than the primary hero steered the girl to shore, the place he wrapped a pair of sweatpants across the gaping wound to stanch the bleeding — with McDonnell utilizing the rope as a do-it-yourself tourniquet, the employees mentioned.
The sufferer was recognized as Tatyana Koltunyuk, who was by herself within the ocean earlier than her screams introduced lifeguards working to the rescue.
“It’s a scary sight for all of them to have seen that,” mentioned Janet McDonnell, whose son works as an alternative instructor through the faculty 12 months and a lifeguard for the final eight summers. “I mean, he told me the whole back of her leg was gone.”
A metropolis employee who witnessed the terrifying scene recalled the badly-injured sufferer was chest-deep within the water and attempting desperately to swim to security after the assault.
“Chunks were washing up on the beach,” he added.
Koltunyuk has had loads of struggles in her life.
She got here to New York City from Ukraine by means of the luck of a inexperienced card lottery within the Nineties along with her first husband and younger Dasha, in response to a 2015 tribute to her household within the Huffington Post.
Koltunyuk’s first husband died of an obvious coronary heart assault simply three weeks after coming to America, in response to the article.
But Koltunyuk’s dedication to younger Dasha was steadfast. She overcame the language barrier and monetary hurdles and labored lengthy hours as a nanny whereas nurturing Dasha’s precocious talent as a pianist, in response to the web site.
She ultimately moved from Brighton Beach to Manhattan to boost her daughter’s academic alternatives. Her perseverance paid off, and her daughter was in the end accepted with a full scholarship to Princeton, in response to HuffPo.
The daughter declined to touch upon her mom’s restoration.
“Thank you for your concern. Thank you, but we have no comment right now,” Dasha Koltunyuk advised the Daily News.
The incident was the primary reported shark assault on the Queens Beach in 70 years, when a 15-year-old was bitten whereas surf fishing after reeling in a reported 80-pound sand shark.
Monday’s sufferer was rushed to Jamaica Hospital for therapy after the assault close to Beach 59th St. She was listed in essential however secure situation.
“It was definitely a group effort,” mentioned Janet McDonnell. “It was great that they had some senior lifeguards there to jump in. If the lifeguards didn’t step in and do that crafty tourniquet first, I don’t know if [police] would have made it on time.”
The seashore remained off-limits for swimmers Tuesday because the Parks Department investigated the incident that left the sufferer hospitalized along with her grotesque harm. The sufferer was later listed in critical however secure situation after the 5:50 p.m. assault.
Cops had been seen flying drones over Rockaway Beach to seek for extra sharks after the Monday assault.
The incident got here a 12 months after shark sightings at Rockaway Beach led metropolis officers to briefly shut down the seashore in late July.
“Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare,” mentioned Parks spokeswoman Meghan Lalor. “We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”