Woman bitten by shark off New York beach

A woman was rushed to hospital after she was allegedly attacked by a shark while swimming off Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York. It’s just the latest episode of a long series of shark attacks off the coast of the metropolis this summer. The New York City Fire Department explained that the woman had suffered a serious injury to her leg, and “all indications seem to indicate that it is a bite from a shark”. The incident comes about a month after a series of five probable shark attacks within two days off nearby Long Island (also in New York), which prompted local officials to step up patrols to detect their presence. Overall, the risk of being attacked by a shark is relatively low, with only 57 confirmed and unprovoked attacks worldwide last year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History, but of those 41 occurred in the United States, with eight non-fatal accidents in New York. In the current year, however, the episodes are increasing.