NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two youngsters frolicking in the surf miles apart along the Fire Island National Seashore in New York suffered puncture wounds to their legs on Wednesday in apparent shark attacks that would mark the state’s first such incidents in 70 years, authorities said. A shark's tooth extracted from the leg of a 13-year old boy, who was attacked at Atlantique Beach in Islip, New York, U.S., is shown in this photo provided July 18, 2018. Courtesy Jason Hager/Ocean Beach Fire Department/Handout via REUTERS The victims - a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy - were discharged after emergency medical treatment for their separate mishaps, each with a bandaged right leg, and both were expected to fully recover. What appeared to be a shark’s tooth was extracted from the boy’s leg and will be analyzed to determine the species of the creature he encountered while boogie-boarding at Atlantique Beach in the town of Islip, officials said. The girl, a middle school student identified at a news conference with her parents afterward as Lola Pollina, said she was standing in waist-deep water at Sailors Haven beach in nearby Brookhaven, 2 miles (3 km) east of Islip, when she was bitten. “I saw something, like, next to me, and I kind of felt pain, and looked and I saw a fin,” she said, recounting how she realized her leg was “all bloody” as she scurried from the water. The shark she saw appeared to be about 3 to 4 feet (91-122 cm) long, she said. Shark attacks on humans are extremely rare in waters off Fire Island, east of New York City, or anywhere else in the state, according to Ian Levine, chief of the Ocean Beach Fire Department, whose paramedics aided the boy who was bitten. Only about 10 cases of shark bites on people have ever been documented in New York state, the last one in 1948, Levine told Reuters by telephone, citing information he said was furnished by Islip town supervisors. Neither incident on Wednesday had yet been officially confirmed as a shark attack, but Levine added, “The tooth we pulled out of the kid’s leg looks like a shark’s tooth.” The boy, who was attending a day camp at the time, walked on and off the police boat that took him to the hospital. The girl later spoke to reporters seated in a wheelchair. Fire Island beaches were closed afterward until further notice, National Park Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Rogers said. The tooth specimen, which is “consistent with a large fish,” was being studied by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which will report its findings to the Suffolk County Marine Bureau, Rogers said. Bite marks on the girl also were “consistent with a large fish,” she said. Separately, a 7-foot(2.2 meter)-long tiger shark was caught by a fisherman at Kismet, another beach town 2 miles (3.2 km)west of Islip, Levine said, adding he doubted either animal involved in Wednesday’s attacks was that large.<doc-sep>This story was reported by Laura Blasey, Robert Brodsky, Stefanie Dazio, Kadia Goba, Michael O’Keeffe and Ellen Yan. It was written by Yan. Two children playing in ocean waters off Fire Island were bitten on the leg Wednesday in a pair of suspected shark attacks that shut down several South Shore beaches to swimming and prompted the governor to launch an investigation, officials said. The incidents, involving a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, occurred within about 15 minutes and less than five miles apart. The first attack happened around 11:15 a.m. at the Sailors Haven beach, the second at Atlantique beach, officials said. Rescuers extracted a tooth from the wounds of the boy, who remained at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore Wednesday night with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. The girl was treated and released from Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in West Islip. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the state Department of Environmental Conservation will “lead a multi-agency investigation into the apparent juvenile shark attacks.” “At this time, both beaches where the attacks occurred have been temporarily closed to swimmers as the investigation continues,” Cuomo said in a statement Wednesday evening. “The state will do everything we can to protect beachgoers and keep the community safe.” DEC experts were to examine the tooth to determine if it came from a shark. Get the Suffolk news this week newsletter! The biggest news, politics and crime stories in Suffolk County, in your inbox every Friday at noon. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. The first victim, Lola Pollina of Islip, said she was in the water when she felt “a quick pull” and saw a fin and a whirlpool. She tried to get out. “I kinda thought it was a dream,” said the incoming seventh grader, who spoke from a wheelchair outside Good Samaritan Hospital with her right leg heavily bandaged. “I didn’t think it was actually happening.” Lola said the wounds looked more like scratches than a bite. She did not get stitches. “I thought it was a shark because, like, we were at the beach and it’s not like it would be a tiger or something," she said. Dr. Kathleen O’Hara, a trauma physician, said the wounds were “fairly superficial,” more like the animal ripped the flesh rather than grabbed onto the leg. Just before 11:30 a.m., the second victim, who was participating in a kids' day camp, was carried out of the water with more serious wounds by an Islip Town lifeguard, who noticed him struggling about 10 yards offshore and carried him back onto the beach, town officials said. "He told me he felt like he was bit by something, and when we cleaned off the blood, we realized there were bite marks on his leg," said Bella Coan, 17. "He had bite marks on his upper thigh to his calf. He had about three one-inch incisions in his leg." She said the boy was "brave" and calm, trusting in the lifeguards who cleaned his wounds and took out a tiny tooth from his punctured skin before Ocean Beach EMTS arrived to dress the injuries. But parents of other campers expressed concern that they were not notified of the incident. “We interacted with the children but there was no official word from the camp,” said Peter McCann, 48, of West Islip. He said his 13-year-old daughter texted him to say someone had been bitten. Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter apologized at a news conference Wednesday. She said going forward, parents would be alerted if "there is an incident they should be aware of." Town of Islip ocean beaches were closed for the rest of the day Wednesday. Officials said they would reassess the situation Thursday morning. Robert Moses State Park and Babylon Town beaches were also closed for a few hours. State Park Police sent a drone over the ocean at Robert Moses to try to find a shark that had been reported, but nothing was found. Fire Island National Seashore beaches were closed until further notice, a spokeswoman said. Two sharks were caught late Wednesday afternoon, one in Kismet on Fire Island and the other 50 yards east of Atlantique, Islip Town spokeswoman Caroline Smith said. There was no indication that either was involved in the attacks. DEC officials said they are working with the state parks department, Suffolk County and other agencies in the investigation to ensure proper precautions are taken to reduce potential conflicts with sharks. It is likely the sharks were chasing prey near shore, because it’s common for sharks to be off the Long Island coast this time of year, they said. Sharks and large fish are a part of Long Island’s marine ecosystem. Researchers have found nurseries for sand tiger and great white sharks off the South Shore and the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continue to monitor populations of dusky and sandbar sharks, among other species. However, attacks on swimmers are uncommon. Carpenter called the incidents “unusual” and said she notified other ocean-facing towns of the attacks. “When these kids go back to school in September and the teacher asks them to write about what they did this summer," she said at a news conference, "they’re definitely going to have something to report.” Philip Pollina, Lola’s father, said he and his family took the ferry to Sailors Haven for a day at the beach and Lola waded into the water for a swim with her brother. It was the first time the family had visited Sailors Haven. He said his wife Barbara Pollina was watching closely because she was nervous about their 5-year-old son playing in the surf. But then they heard a scream from Lola, who was standing in waist-deep water. “I look up and I saw her in a panic,” Pollina, 47, said. “She came out and her leg was covered in blood.” Pollina said the lifeguards came over to examine Lola’s injuries. Even as lifeguards bandaged Lola’s leg, Pollina said the water was filled with swimmers. “I am pretty certain it was a shark,” Pollina said. “Thank God she’s OK. She may have a couple of little scars on her leg, but she’ll have a great story to tell.” Casey Murphy, 18, of Wantagh, was vacationing at Kismet when beachgoers got word of a possible shark attack. With the beach closed to swimming, he said he turned to fishing for stripers or bluefish after 3 p.m., using bunker as bait. “Fifteen minutes in, a shark took the bait and I reeled it in,” Murphy said. Suddenly, a crowd of more than 100 swelled around him as he reeled the shark – which he said he thinks is a sand tiger shark that weighed 80 to 90 pounds and was as much as 6 feet long – onto the shore. Several of the common shark species including sand tiger sharks are protected and under state law, it is illegal to fish for them. Sand tiger sharks, sandbar sharks and thresher sharks are common in Long Island waters during the summer, said Tobey Curtis, a NOAA shark researcher. Juvenile sharks spend the warmer summer months chasing schools of bunker fish before they grow large enough to swim farther out into the Atlantic. Often, these schools bring them closer into shore and Curtis said ocean swimmers may not even be aware of the young sharks swimming around them. Bites are usually the result of an arm or a leg getting in the way of a feeding shark, he said. “Prior to today, there were 10 bites recorded over the last 100-plus years in New York waters,” Curtis said. “And that’s very telling. We know sharks are here and the bites are uncommon. It’s an accidental thing.” Bluefish are also known to chase the same bunker schools and bite humans, though their bites are just as rare. Curtis examined photos of one of the victims’ injuries and said they were more consistent with a bite from a smaller shark than a bluefish. Lola said she won’t be deterred, whatever attacked her.<doc-sep>TOWN OF ISLIP, N.Y. -- Two children were recovering Wednesday night after officials say they were bitten by a shark off Fire Island, CBS New York reports. The 13-year-old boy was bitten in the water around noon at Atlantique Beach, while the 12-year-old Lola Pollina was bitten around the same time at Sailor Haven Beach. She says the water was so cold she didn't feel anything, but there's little doubt the creature that chomped on her leg was a shark. "It was a 10-inch orangey body and then there was a fin and then I got out, and my leg was bloody," Lola said. "We went to the lifeguards, we ran up to them and they kind of bandaged it." Lola was in waist-deep water roughly 10-feet off the shore when it happened. Her mother snapped photos and took to social media to share them. "I saw a lot of thrashing and her trying to get to me," mom Barbara Pollina said. Lola wasn't alone, with nearly identical bandaging slapped on the 13-year-old victim who had been boogie boarding just four and a half miles away. He didn't just have bite marks on his leg; a shark tooth managed to embed into his skin. Both victims' injuries were described as non-life-threatening The boy was taken to Southside Hospital. The girl was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center. Marine life experts say cleaner ocean waters in New York are making conditions ripe for the sea life sharks like to eat, attracting them to areas closer to the shoreline. Wednesday evening, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo deployed environmental conservation officers to investigate the waters off Fire Island. Lola says the ordeal won't stop her from going in the water, but she'll make sure to be more careful next time.<doc-sep>
Two children suffered bite wounds to their legs while swimming in beaches along New York's Fire Island on Wednesday in what were believed to be the first shark attacks in the area for 70 years, officials said. The 13-year-old boy, who has not been identified, and 12-year-old Lola Pollina were taken to hospital for emergency medical treatment after they were both bitten on their right legs around noon, reported The Guardian. They have since been discharged and are expected to make a full recovery. Pollina was bitten at Sailor Haven Beach, while the 13-year-old boy was attacked around the same time on Atlantique Beach. Both beaches were subsequently closed for the rest of the day. "It was a ten-inch orangey body and then there was a fin and then I got out, and my leg was bloody," Pollina said. "We went to the lifeguards, we ran up to them and they kind of bandaged it." She added: "I probably will go in the water again, but I'll be more careful." Investigators are working to determine whether a shark caused the bites. A video filmed by a bystander in the aftermath of the attacks shows a 7ft-long tiger shark caught by a fisherman in Kismet on Fire Island. It is unclear whether it is the same shark involved in the incidents. Elizabeth Rogers, a public affairs specialist for the Fire island National Seashore, said Pollina's bite marks appear to be from a large fish (via CNN). One of the wounds sustained contained a tooth that is being tested to determine whether it came from a shark. "The Suffolk County Marine Bureau is awaiting identification of the tooth from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Marine Bureau," Rogers said in a statement. Ian Levine, chief of the Ocean Beach Fire Department, revealed that shark attacks around Fire Island were incredibly rare, with the last one recorded in 1948. Only 10 cases have been reported in the state of New York. Although authorities have not confirmed the incidents were shark attacks, Levine said "the tooth we pulled out of the kid's leg looks like a shark's tooth."