DEL MAR, Calif. (KGTV) — A Stretch of beach in Del Mar remains closed Friday evening after a swimmer was bitten by a shark.
It happened off Coast Blvd. near the Poseidon Seafood restaurant.
Lifeguards say the 50-year-old woman was waving her hands and screaming for help. She was rushed to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening bite to the upper thigh.
Chris Stromquist was surfing nearby Friday when a lifeguard told him he had to leave the water.
" I didn't see any signs," said Stromquist.
"Somebody getting bit, that gives you a reason to pause for sure."
He says the area is his go-to surf spot.
"I just had a baby recently so I've been out of the water for a while. I guess I was just too stoked to get in the water."
If you visit the beach this weekend, you'll see signs urging you to stay out of the water. The beach is closed for a mile in each direction from where the shark attacked until Sunday morning.
Lifeguards say juvenile white sharks, also called great white sharks, are relatively common in the area.
"I saw one a few months ago," said Stromquist. "It was about eight feet."
Del Mar's Chief Lifeguard says they interact with surfers and swimmers nearly every day, but it's extremely rare for them to bite people.
Lynn Kunkle has lived in Del Mar for more than 25 years, but he's never seen a shark attack like this.
"Gal came out of the water and they came out with one of the wheelchairs with rubber wheels," said Kunkle.
"They took her up in the parking lot and put her on the board and put her on an emergency vehicle. All I saw was a little blood on her leg."
Experts say you should always swim with a buddy. If you have any problems in the water, you should wave your arms in the air to get a lifeguard's attention.
ABC 10 News is working to get an update on the woman's condition.
