A great white shark attacked two kayakers who were watching seals off Massachusetts on Wednesday, taking a large bite out of one of their kayaks and dumping the two women into the water – leaving them soaking but safe.
The women, Ida Parker and Kristin Orr, told television station
WBZ-TV that while they knew of reports of shark sightings in the Plymouth area they weren't concerned when they took to the water.
Parker told WBZ-TV the shark struck them without warning.
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"It came up from underneath my best friend's boat," Parker said. "It breached out of the water grabbed onto the boat and flipped us both over and took off after that."
The women told the station that luckily a witness on shore called for help as they landed in the water.
"I probably did what I shouldn't do and started thrashing around and started climbing back in my kayak," said Orr.
Assistant harbor master Stefan Gustafson told the
Boston Globe that officials received the report about incident about 100 yards off the coast at Manomet Point about 6 p.m.
"The shark had bit through one of their kayaks," Gustafson said. "Both kayakers were knocked into the water, and one of the kayaks was sinking."
Harbor officials rescued Parker and Orr, who were in their mid-20s, Gustafson said.
Earlier in the day, authorities had received a report of a shark attacking a seal in the area but crews were unable to find it, Gustafson told the Globe.
"First thing in the morning, we'll be having a boat in the area, searching for any sightings," Gustafson said. "We advise that people stay out of the water on Plymouth beaches such as Whitehorse Beach and Plymouth Beach."
Gustafson said he believed the shark was from 12- and 14-feet long, according to officials from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
"Shark sightings have become a more common occurrence during the summer months due to an increasing population of grey seals in the area,” Kristi Selmi, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, told the Globe.
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