Follow KDKA-TV: Facebook | Twitter (CNN) — A 13-year-old boy was attacked early Saturday by a shark while diving for lobsters in waters off Encinitas, California, near San Diego, authorities said. The boy sustained traumatic injuries to his upper torso and was taken to a hospital. His current condition is unknown, Encinitas lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles told reporters. Encinitas is about 25 miles north of San Diego. The attack happened before 7 a.m. PT, about 150 to 200 yards from Beacon’s Beach, Giles said. Several people were in the water diving for lobsters, he said, because it was opening season for catching the crustaceans. Three good Samaritans heard the boy’s cries and assisted in bringing him ashore using a kayak, Giles said. Lifeguards had been on duty early Saturday due to two nearby events, and the response to the attack was “very short,” Giles said. “The lifeguard was within a quarter-mile of the incident with a lifeguard truck and arrived on scene and started providing first aid right away,” he said. The lifeguard was an emergency medical technician, Giles added. Paramedics arrived soon after, and the boy was taken to the hospital. He was conscious and talking on the beach, Giles said, as well as on his way to the hospital. Chad Hammel said he was one of the folks in the water who helped out. Hammel said he thought the boy was just excited when he first heard him shouting. “And then I realized that he was yelling, ‘I got bit! Help, help,’ ” Hammel said. He didn’t realize the extent of the boy’s injuries until he and a friend put him on their kayak. “Once we got him on the kayak we could really see what happened,” Hammel said. “And his whole clavicle’s ripped open; you could see the ball and socket joint and everything.” Nearby beaches between Ponto Beach and Swami’s Beach will be closed for 48 hours following the attack, Giles said. There’s been no shark activity in the area since then. One previously scheduled surf event was canceled. Giles said there was a non-fatal shark attack earlier this year at Camp Pendleton, north of Encinitas. ™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.<doc-sep>EMBED >More News Videos Police: Man dies after shark attack off Cape Cod. Christie Ileto reports during Action News at 6 a.m. on September 16, 2018. SAN DIEGO -- A 13-year-old boy was expected to recover after a shark attacked him while he dived for lobsters in Southern California, hospital officials said Sunday.The teen, who was not identified, was in serious condition a day after he was bitten off the coast of Encinitas, a city north of San Diego, Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego said in a statement. He had been listed in critical but stable condition following surgery Saturday. "The boy's parents want to inform family, friends and the entire community that he is expected to make a full recovery," the hospital statement said.Approximately 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) of beach will stay closed until at least 7 a.m. Monday, officials said. There have been no reports of additional shark activity since the attack, Encinitas lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles told reporters Sunday.The teen suffered traumatic upper torso injuries and was conscious and talking while being brought to shore by fellow divers, Giles said a day earlier at Beacon's Beach in Encinitas, about 27 miles (43 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.The attack occurred early Saturday during the opening hour of California's popular spiny lobster season.The boy was diving in about 9 feet (2.7 meters) of water approximately 150 yards (137 meters) offshore when he was attacked. Witnesses estimated the shark was about 11 feet (3 meters) long, but the type was not known, Giles said.A GoFundMe account has been established to help the family pay for medical expenses.The most recent fatal shark attack in the area was in 2008 when a swimmer was killed at Solana Beach. A more recent attack along the Camp Pendleton coast of north San Diego County was not fatal.Earlier this month, a man died after being bitten by a shark off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. -----<doc-sep>A teen boy has been hospitalized after he sustained serious injuries from a shark attack while he was lobster diving in Encinitas, California 13-Year-Old Boy in Serious Condition After Being Attacked by 10-Foot Shark in San Diego County A teenage boy sustained serious upper body injuries after he was attacked by an estimated 10-foot-long shark on Saturday morning while diving for lobsters off the coast of Encinitas, a popular beach town in San Diego County. According to CBS News, Keane Hayes, 13, has improved from critical condition to serious condition, and is expected to make a full recovery. He is the first shark victim in the area in 30 years, the outlet reported. Get push notifications with news, features and more. A nearby kayaker, Chad Hammel, witnessed the incident and told the outlet he heard the boy scream. “It’s probably like ten feet of blood behind him,” he recalled to CBS News. “And he’s in a panic.” The calls about the attack came in around 7 a.m. local time, FOX 5 reported. Lobster diving season had begun at 6 a.m., and Hayes was reportedly participating with his church youth group. Hammel also told the local station that he heard someone yelling “I got bit!” and that he rescued the boy by pulling him onto his kayak. “We told him he’s going to be okay, he’s going to be alright,” Hammel said to Fox 5. “We got help. I yelled at everyone to get out of the water: ‘There’s a shark in the water!’ ” He continued, “Once we threw him up on the kayak and started heading in, that’s when I looked back, and the shark was behind the kayak. He didn’t want to give up yet.” Hayes was then airlifted to Rady Children’s Hospital and endured nine hours of treatment for his upper torso injuries before he was stabilized, according to the Independent. “This is a rare injury,” said Rady’s chief of pediatric surgery, Dr. Tim Fairbanks, in a news conference Saturday afternoon. “This is not something we see much of, to be honest with you.” Dr. Chris Lowe, director of the University of California, Long Beach’s Shark Lab, told CBS the attack was “just bad luck… Ten feet is still a juvenile; it would be a large juvenile… The shark just [mistook] this person for potential prey and took a bite.” He added, “We may start encountering sharks in places where we haven’t encountered them before. And as [shark] populations are recovering, people might start encountering them more.” In 2017 alone, the U.S. had more shark attacks than any other nation: 53. RELATED: Shark Grabs Fish Off Hook As People Reel It In Authorities are investigating if the shark was a great white and closed off the coastline from Ponto Beach in Carlsbad to Swami’s Beach in Encinitas for 48 hours.<doc-sep>The teenage boy who was attacked by a shark off a California beach on Saturday is in serious condition but recovering from traumatic bite injuries, a hospital official said Monday. Keane Webre-Hayes,13, talked and was alert Monday morning in a pediatric intensive care unit at Rady Children's Hospital about 48 hours after a harrowing attack left his clavicle "ripped open," according to a kayaker who rendered aid off Beacon's Beach in Encinitas, 25 miles north of San Diego. "He's improving, but we still have care to do to get him out of the hospital," said Dr. Tim Fairbanks, Rady's chief of pediatric surgery. "While he's doing well, we still have significant recovery." More:Shark attack injures boy, 13, at Southern California beach More:Shark stalked bloody victim as rescuers rushed him to California beach The staff is monitoring the boy's blood count and risk for infection. Rehabilitation work will need to be done, Fairbanks said, adding that Webre-Hayes still has all of his limbs. His mother, Ellie Hayes, thanked first responders, the hospital and the local community for their support, describing her son as brave and compassionate and calling his survival "a miracle." "I think it is a miracle and I think Keane is a miracle," Hayes said, adding that her son, an eighth-grader, enjoyed a cup of noodles and a donut Monday morning. "I think he's very, very, very strong, and he's a survivor now." On Saturday morning, the opening day of lobster season, Hayes said her son was "emphatic" about lobster diving with a friend. She watched them from a cliff. "He said, 'Mom, I'm going to make you a lobster dinner tonight,' " Hayes recalled. "So, he owes me one." Her son has already expressed a desire to go back in the water, the mother said, telling her that the chances of another shark attack would be especially low. He has also been asking for the three men and kayak owner who saved him. There have not been additional shark sightings in the area since Saturday, according to the city of Encinitas. Beacon's Beach and the surrounding area, La Costa Avenue to Swami’s Beach, reopened at 7 a.m. Monday. A GoFundMe page to help the family cover the boy's medical bills had raised more than $27,000 as of Monday afternoon.<doc-sep>
(CNN) — A 13-year-old boy who was attacked by a shark early Saturday is still in serious condition, downgraded from the critical condition he was in originally, according to Dr. Tim Fairbanks, chief of pediatric and trauma surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. The boy was attacked while diving for lobsters in waters off Encinitas, California, authorities said. Encinitas is about 25 miles north of San Diego. The boy suffered traumatic injuries to his upper torso, Encinitas lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles said. The injury was very large and deep in his chest, Fairbanks said. The attack happened before 7 a.m., about 150 to 200 yards from Beacon’s Beach, Giles said. Several people were in the water diving for lobsters, he said, because it was the opening of the season for catching the crustaceans. Three good Samaritans heard the boy’s cries and helped bring him ashore using a kayak, Giles said. One of the rescuers was a lifeguard sergeant who was among those diving for lobsters. Lifeguards had been on duty early Saturday because of two nearby events, and the response to the attack was “very short,” Giles said. “The lifeguard was within a quarter-mile of the incident with a lifeguard truck and arrived on scene and started providing first aid right away,” he said. The lifeguard was an emergency medical technician, Giles added. Paramedics arrived soon after, and the boy was taken to the hospital. He was conscious and talking on the beach, Giles said, as well as on his way to the hospital. Chad Hammel said he was one of the people in the water who helped. Hammel said he thought the boy was just excited when he first heard him shouting. “And then I realized that he was yelling, ‘I got bit! Help, help,’ ” Hammel said. He didn’t realize the extent of the boy’s injuries until he and a friend put him on their kayak. “Once we got him on the kayak we could really see what happened,” Hammel said. “And his whole clavicle’s ripped open; you could see the ball and socket joint and everything.” The beach was reopened on Monday, Encinitas Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles said. Nearby beaches between Ponto Beach and Swami’s Beach were closed for 48 hours after the attack, Giles said. One scheduled surf event was canceled. Giles said there was a nonfatal shark attack earlier this year at Camp Pendleton, north of Encinitas. CNN’s Sarah Moon and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.