Shark Attack At Rockaway Beach, Victim Loses 20 pounds Of Flesh!

The woman who was attacked by a shark at Rockaway Beach this week is suspected to have lost ” approximately 20 pounds of flesh” due to the gruesome bite, police sources told The Post Tuesday.

The victim, a 65-year-old Queens woman, was attacked while swimming alone off the shore near Beach 59th Street shortly before 6 p.m. Monday — losing a large chunk of her left leg, above the knee, to the shark, according to sources and a photo of her injury.

Lifeguards spotted her screaming for help in the water — and pulled her to shore, where she was given first aid. A tourniquet was also applied to her leg to help stem the bleeding before first responders arrived.

The woman was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where staff said she was in stable but critical condition Tuesday.

The rare shark attack – believed to be Rockaway Beach’s first since 1953 – prompted the city Department of Parks & Recreation to shut down swimming and surfing at the popular seaside spot Tuesday.

“We hope for a full recovery for this swimmer,” the Parks Department said in a statement.

“Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare. We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.”

NYPD scoured the area with helicopters and drones following Monday evening’s attack, but did not spot any sharks.

Tatyana Koltunyuk, 65, was identified as the shark bite victim on Rockaway Beach.
Facebook/Tatyana Koltunyuk

Further west at Coney Island Beach, the NYPD has been using shark-monitoring drones since the beginning of the summer.

The woman was hospitalized in critical condition after receiving a serious leg wound.

Shark sightings have become more common in recent years in Queens and on Long Island.

In June, swimmers were forced to flee the water for an hour due to a shark sighting in the Hammels section of Rockaway Beach, CBS 2 reported at the time.

The victim lost about 20 pounds of flesh from the shark bite.

“The shark was probably 50 yards out, and they called for everybody to get out of the water,” Brooklyn resident Chip Newell told the station in June of the past sighting.

“It was a brown fin. Definitely wasn’t a dolphin … There were a lot of helicopters here within a matter of probably 15 minutes. It was pretty crazy.”

The Parks Department was forced to close Rockaway Beach for a day in July 2022 amid a heat wave due to shark sightings, but ff confirmed, it would be the first shark attack in the area since 1953.

Rockaway Beach is closed Tuesday, as officials investigate a grisly shark attack that left a beachgoer with serious injuries. https://t.co/eoaoYQ4ydC pic.twitter.com/PFFtBRTuqO

— New York Post (@nypost) August 8, 2023

A woman was seriously injured in an apparent shark attack at Rockaway Beach on Monday, causing officials to prohibit swimming and surfing there. pic.twitter.com/g8ozBOuWjT

— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) August 8, 2023