Cape Cod shark attack leaves man with a bite

GlobalPost

A man who suffered lacerations to his legs while bodysurfing in Cape Cod Monday appears to have been attacked and bitten by a shark.

"It looked like a shark bite to me," Truro, Massachusetts, Fire Chief Brian Davis said to CNN of the incident at nearby Ballston Beach. "Witnesses said they saw (a) fin. They saw him go under water. He was hollering for help."

More from GlobalPost: South Africa: Shark attack fuels anger at 'Shark Men' TV show

Chris Myers, a father of two, suffered non-life-threatening injuries on the lower part of both legs, according to CNN. He was conscious and able to speak to first-responders before heading to a Cape Cod hospital.

Myers is undergoing surgery today and is expected to live, reported ABC News. The attack happened around 3:30 p.m. when Myers was pulled under water by what is believed to be a shark. He was bitten in both legs below the knees in what was believed to be one crushing blow.

"They [rescuers] dragged him out and they had to carry him up here and they had to wrap it around his legs and he was bleeding through the gauzes," a witness told local ABC affiliate WCVB. "It was bad. Both [of] his legs were pretty bad."

Ballston Beach has remained open while authorities try to figure out whether it really was a shark that attacked Myers, according to The Christian Science Monitor. The Executive Office of Environmental Affairs said Tuesday that it is gathering information about the attack, but cannot yet confirm that it was a shark that bit Myers.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.