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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Surfer bitten by shark at popular Oregon surfing spot

Associated Press

SEASIDE, Ore. — A surfer in Seaside, Oregon, was bitten by a shark and suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his lower leg.

The incident took place about 3:20 p.m. Sunday in a popular surfing spot in South Seaside known as The Cove, near Tillamook Head, according to Jon Rahl, a spokesman for the City of Seaside, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Seaside Fire and local medics arrived at the scene to find the adult male victim being carried to the parking lot by fellow surfers. An off-duty Seaside lifeguard had applied a field tourniquet to the man’s leg to help slow the bleeding.

The victim was transferred to the trauma unit of the local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. His condition is not known.

Rahl credited the quick response of fellow surfers and said it was a valuable reminder not to recreate alone. “The fact that there were additional people on scene helped move this along pretty quickly,” he said.

Sunday’s attack came nine years to the day after another surfer suffered a shark bite at the Seaside Cove. That victim, a female, also survived with non-life-threatening injuries.