Surfer loses right foot in shark attack near busy Honolulu beach
"My dad is a fighter": The 58-year-old was bitten by an 8-foot tiger shark that returned to the site as people were working to save the man.
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April 11 (UPI) -- A surfer was hospitalized in serious condition after losing his right foot in a shark attack off the south shore of Oahu in Hawaii, according to Honolulu Emergency Services.
The 58-year-old man was bitten on his right leg Sunday morning while surfing in Kewalo Basin along one of Honolulu's busiest tourist areas, just north of Waikiki Beach, officials said.
A statement from his family Monday identified the victim as Mike Morita, who is a regular surfer at Kewalos.
"He has a long and difficult road ahead of him. My dad is a fighter and even though he's facing a setback now, you all know that won't stop him," his son said in the statement, which also thanked the "brave surfers and first responders who saved his life."
A surfer was hospitalized in serious condition after the 58-year-old man lost his right foot in a shark attack off the south shore of Oahu in Hawaii, according to Honolulu Emergency Services. (File photo by Cory Lum/UPI)
Sunday's attack is the fourth reported shark bite in Hawaii this year, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources page.
Last month, a 62-year-old man suffered leg and hand injuries from a shark attack in Anaeho'omalu Bay on Hawaii's Big Island.
After Morita was bitten Sunday, surfers in the area managed to tourniquet his right leg while he was still in the water and help him get to shore, Shayne Enright, spokesperson for Honolulu Emergency Services, told CNN.
First responders transported him from the beach to a nearby hospital in serious condition.
Enright says the shark is believed to be an eight-foot tiger shark. DLNR told reporters that the shark returned to the site as surfers were working to save Morita. They said the shark started acting agressively, according to Hawaii News Now.
After Sunday's attack, jet-ski patrols were added to monitor the ocean and lifeguards posted warning signs about the shark, advising surfers and swimmers to stay out of the water. The signs were removed Monday afternoon.
Five-time WSL Champion Carissa Moore of Hawaii, left, at the Hurley Pro Sunset Beach on Feb. 19, 2023 at Oahu, Hawaii. (Photo by Tony Heff/World Surf League via Getty Images)
