A father rescued his daughter after she was bitten by a shark Sunday near a North Carolina island, using a surfboard to ferry her to a beach after the attack, according to WYFF-TV.
Law enforcement said the girl was bitten on her right calf by what they believed to be a juvenile shark east of Bald Head Island Sunday morning, the television station said. The girl, though, was able to swim to a sandbar and screamed from help, WYFF-TV said.
Brunswick County Sheriff's Office reported that the girl was heard screaming on a sandbar near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, about 10:30 a.m., according to the Charlotte Observer.
That is when her father went into action, going out to the sandbar on the surfboard to retrieve her and bring her back to shore, the newspaper said. The sheriff's office said the girl was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina with injuries that were not life-threating.
The Observer said Bald Head Island is a 12,000-acre island that has a large maritime forest and the state's oldest surviving light house, built in 1817. The island's rental homes are accessible only by passenger ferry. Golf carts, but not cars, are permitted.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, which keeps statistics on shark attacks, there were three shark bites in North Carolina in 2016 and 33 overall since 2007. South Carolina has had 39 attacks and Florida 244, according to the museum.
Overall, the United States has had 449 confirmed attacks from 2007 to 2016, with six leading to death, according to museum statistics. Florida led all states during that period, followed by Hawaii with 65 shark bites. California tied with North Carolina with 33 attacks while Texas recorded 11.
The museum's International Shark Attack File, said there is only a one in 11.5 million chance for a beachgoer to be attacked by shark.
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