Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Fatal Shark Attack in North Carolina
Aired September 04, 2001 - 07:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VINCE CELLINI, CNN ANCHOR: It's kind of almost too hard to believe, two days after a 10-year-old Virginia boy dies from a shark attack, we have what's believed to be another fatal shark incident, this time in Avon, North Carolina off the Outer Banks. A man and woman were attacked. The woman is dead -- the man is dead, rather. The woman is in critical condition.
And CNN's Patty Davis has been covering the incident in Virginia. But she this morning is in Avon and will join us by phone -- good morning, Patty.
PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Vince.
Well, that attack, the likely shark attack is what National Park Service officials are saying, took place around 6:00 p.m. last night about one mile south from where I am standing here in Avon, North Carolina. As you said, one man 27 years old who has not been identified yet. He is identified, however, as a Russian national, died of his injuries. He was in cardiac arrest at the time the rescuers got to him. A woman, his companion, a 23-year-old girlfriend, also critically injured.
Now, they're from the Washington, D.C. area. Officials say that they were swimming in chest high water about 20 to 40 feet out on a sand bar when this likely attack by a shark occurred. They were about in four feet of water and it appears that they were coming in from swimming from that sand bar.
Now, a flyover expected this morning by the Coast Guard along with marine experts to look into the waters to see if there is any more shark activity. The National Park Service says that it is, this is their beach. This whole stretch belongs to the National Park Service. They are keeping these beaches open. In fact, the beaches here never did close.
Now, their reasoning there is, they're saying there hasn't been an attack here in recent memory by a shark and they feel that it's safe enough to keep these beaches open. Now, this attack comes two days almost exactly to the hour that another attack occurred. That was Saturday in Virginia Beach. Ten-year-old David Peltier died from his wounds sustained from a shark attack on Sunday. He died of those wounds.
Now, likely if this is a shark, the sharks, we're told, that do live in this area are tiger sharks, also bull sharks, also scalloped hammerhead sharks, and also Park Service officials are saying that it could have been that this couple was around a sand bar during a feeding time where there is shark bait, fish that are around that sand bar, and again, as in the case of David Peltier, perhaps there might have been a shark mistaking this couple for fish swimming in that school -- Vince.
CELLINI: Well, thank you, Patty.
And a little bit later on in this hour we will talk to a doctor who treated the female victim in this incident -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In fact, Vince, just a few minutes ago I spoke with Elaine Quijano at the hospital in Norfolk, Virginia about the female victim.
Elaine, are doctors telling you that she's going to live?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, doctors here in Norfolk say that she is now listed in critical but stable condition. They say she has injuries to her hip, foot and buttocks. They also say she lost a lot of blood, that it was very lucky that she received medical attention so quickly. They say that was what likely helped save her life.
However, they also say that she will likely have a long recovery ahead of her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JEFFREY RIBLET, SENTARA NORFOLK GENERAL HOSPITAL: She'll need, she'll need more debridment and revision of her wounds. She'll undoubtedly need some complex closure techniques to close those wounds and we'll ask our plastic surgery colleagues at some point to help us with that.
I think barring any unforeseen complications, infection or otherwise, I think that, you know, we'll be able to get her on the road to recovery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, her companion, a 27-year-old man, was not as fortunate. He was pronounced dead on the scene in Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Doctors say this particular attack was one of the most severe attacks they'd ever seen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIBLET: This was pretty extensive. I've seen a few shark bites before but they were not near like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: And so the prognosis here from doctors, they do expect this 22-year-old woman, the latest victim of a shark attack, to recover. However, as I said, the recovery process will be a long one -- Carol.
LIN: Yes, a long one and a tough one. Is she conscious right now, Elaine?
QUIJANO: A hospital spokeswoman said that she is conscious. They say she is alert and she is communicating with her parents, who arrived here last night from Maryland. So that is a good sign, certainly, that she is alert and talking -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Elaine Quijano, reporting.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
