'There was blood everywhere': Swimmer mauled by SEVEN FOOT great white shark at popular southern California beach after it escaped from a fishing line
- Steven Robles, 40, was bitten by the seven-foot juvenile shark just before 9.30 a.m. at Manhattan Beach
- Terrified swimmers screamed 'white! white!' in fears a Great White Shark was on the prowl
- Robles escaped by punching the shark in the nose
- Robles is being held in stable condition at the UCLA Harbor Medical Center
- Swimmers were barred from the water for hours until authorities pushed the vicious beast into deeper water
A man was mauled by a great white shark this weekend at a popular southern California beach.
Steven Robles, 40, was bitten by a seven-foot great white shark around 9.30 a.m. Saturday morning at Manhattan Beach after the beast escaped from a fisherman.
CBS Los Angeles reports Robles is in stable condition at the UCLA Harbor Medical Center.
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Saved: Two men carry a swimmer, after he was bitten by a great white shark, to safety on Manhattan Beach
Steven Robles, 40, says he thanks God for saving his life from a horrific shark attack
In agony: The unidentified man is loaded into the ambulance following the attack
'Out of the water!': Lifeguard Natalia Vecerek, 22, patrols the beach, telling people to leave the water after the early morning shark attack
He was reportedly with a group of 15 frequent swimmers who dive into the water every Saturday in popular spots from Hermosa to Manhattan Beach Pier, and who were training for an International Swim Meet.
Robles told reporters he punched the shark in the nose, which is a frequently recommended strategy when faced with an attack.
Robles credits the quick thinking, along with God's intervention, for his survival.
A religious man, he recently swam to raise money for his Hermosa Beach church.
The shark had reportedly been hooked by a fisherman, panicked and bit Robles in the ribs, back and right arm, causing multiple puncture wounds, police told Redondo Patch.
Witnesses told the Los Angeles Times the shark had been on the fishing line for nearly an hour and panicked, leading to the attack.
He was in the water while part of a group training, the site said, and was still conscious when loaded into the ambulance.
Steven Robles, 40, was bitten by a seven-foot great white shark around 9.30 a.m. Saturday morning at Manhattan Beach after the beast
escaped from a fisherman
Robles escaped by punching the shark in the nose, a widely recommended maneuver in such attacks
![Thanks to quick and courageous action by swimmers and surfers, Lomita resident Steve Robles, 50, is recovering at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, after having been attacked by what authorities believe was a six- to eight-foot juvenile Great White Shark.
Steve Robles was swimming from the Hermosa Beach to the Manhattan Beach pier with a dozen fellow members of the SCAQ (Southern California Aquatics) swim team when the attack occurred at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
The shark had been hooked by a pier fisherman approximately 45 minutes earlier and was still on the line, according to several witnesses.
?We had stopped at the 8th Street buoy to regroup and had just started swimming again when I heard Steve screaming about five feet ahead of me,? SCAQ swimmer Mary Ellen Koetsier-Farr said. ?When I reached him, Nader [ Nejadhashemi] and Susan [Brilliant] were holding him up. Nader said he?d been bit.?
?I knew Steve was breathing because he was screaming. So, I looked under the water an](http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/07/06/article-2681888-1F6CA63900000578-472_306x423.jpg)
Robles was training with a group of 15 avid swimmers before an international competition
More than half an hour prior to the attack, a fisherman hooked the beast, but set it loose when it attacked Robles, witnesses told Patch.
He was taken ashore by surfers while lifeguards urged people to get to the shore and helicopters soon began hovering over the beach.
A surfer in the water near the victim told the New York Daily News of the terrifying attack.
'There was blood everywhere and I realized that something had gotten him,' said Casey Fenwick. 'He was screaming the whole time and I understand why.
'I was just worried about getting this guy in and on the board so somebody could help.'
Video from the scene shows the bedlam that ensued as he was pulled to safety.
Off limits: Police closed off the beach until the shark was a safe distance away
high and dry: Swimmers fled to the pier after the water was closed as a safety precaution
Where it happened: People who fled the waters on Manhattan Beach gathered on the pier
Two-miles of the beach were closed while authorities worked to move the shark into deeper water, said cops.
‘The deputies directed a lifeguard boat and a Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol boat to the shark,’ said a police statement. ‘A paddle boarder was directed away from the shark by the boat crews.
‘After approximately 30 minutes, the boats were able to coax the shark out to deeper water and away from the pier.’
A witness told the Los Angeles Times people began screaming ‘white! white!’ for a great white shark.
‘It was a scary scream,’ said Aram Ozen. ‘It was kind of freaky. There was a lot people screaming back to shore.’ Another witness detailed the horror to Patch.
‘The shark was 6-7 feet. A fisherman who regularly tries to catch sharks had it on the line for 45 minutes,’ said Scot Valor. ‘The shark was panicking. The swimmer just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
The beach has since been reopened. The man’s is in stable condition at a local hospital.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2681888/Swimmer-mauled-shark-popular-southern-California-beach-horrified-swimmers-flee-dry-land.html#ixzz36gTyczTX
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