Woman saw ‘cloud of blood’ in water after being bitten by great white shark
A woman left disabled after being mauled by a shark while swimming has recalled seeing a "cloud of blood in the water".
The 65-year-old Tatyana Koltunyuk needed five surgeries after she was bitten while swimming at Rockaway Beach in Queens, leaving her with a wound several inches wide and deep.
She had recently retired and would often make the hour journey by train to swim at the beach. After just 10 minutes in the water she felt something bump into her. Her daughter Darya told Good Morning America: "And then she saw the shark on its belly looking at her."
Ms Kotunyuk told Darya she saw the shark's teeth which were "green and dirty."
Darya recalled: "She described looking at its eyes very vividly and just seeing it. She almost describes it as being mischievous, almost like an adolescent spirit.”
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Ms Koltunyuk was rescued from the water (WABC)After the bite, the unfortunate victim saw a "cloud of blood in the water," Darya recalled. She added: "The fact that she’s alive is a miracle."
Medics have said it could take years of physical therapy and close medical monitoring. Darya said: "Though the full impact of her injury is not yet known, it has left her with a permanent disability."
Lifeguards pulled Koltunyuk, originally from , from the water off Rockaway Beach after she was bitten while swimming, leaving her with a wound several inches wide and deep. A tourniquet was applied to her leg before was taken to a in critical condition.
Members of the Fire Department of New York land a drone used to patrol Rockaway beach following the attack (AP)Darya Koltunyuk, a pianist and the outreach manager at Princeton University Concerts, said her mother will remain hospitalised for at least several more weeks. Tatyana Koltunyuk emigrated to the United States from Ukraine with her husband and then three-year-old daughter in the 1990s. Koltunyuk’s husband died of a heart attack a few weeks after the family arrived, their daughter said.
Tatyana Koltunyuk worked tirelessly to support her daughter on her own and had hoped to enjoy her retirement, her daughter said. Darya Koltunyuk added: “She talked about swimming in the ocean every day, walking around the city with a new puppy, and travelling with us.
The unfortunate victim was bitten by a great white shark (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"My husband and I will do everything in our power to make her retirement as comfortable and enjoyable as we possibly can, but the road ahead will be extremely challenging for her and for our family." Experts said Koltunyuk’s bite was the most serious shark attack in New York waters in decades.
Shark sightings and minor bites have become more frequent in the region in recent years as the predators are drawn closer to shore by a growing population of the bait fish they feed on. At least 13 swimmers reported being bitten off the coast of Long Island in the past two summers, surpassing the total of reported bites throughout New York history prior to 2022. None of those injuries were considered serious.
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