A Ukrainian woman has a “permanent disability” and underwent five surgeries after being attacked by a shark on Rockaway Beach.
Tatyana Koltunyuk, 65, was bitten by the beast just before 6pm on Monday while she was swimming on Queens Beach. According to witnesses, she lost a 20-pound “chunk” of flesh on her left leg, just above the knee.
Koltunyuk, who is retired with dreams of swimming in the sea, traveling the world and mothering a new puppy, now faces years of intense physical therapy.
Her daughter and son-in-law Dasha Koltunyuk and Gregg Kallor said she also needed medical monitoring.
A gofundme began raising money for her care and has so far raised $50,000, about half of the family’s stated goal.
Tatyana Koltunyuk, 65, was bitten by the shark just before 6 p.m. Monday while swimming off Queens Beach. According to witnesses, she lost a 20-pound “chunk” of flesh on her left leg, just above the knee
Her daughter claims her mother’s needs include “ongoing services and counseling, mobility assistance(s), intensive physical and psychological therapy, accessibility and comfort of her home environment, and transportation to and from appointments.”
According to her family, Koltunyuk emigrated to the United States with her husband at the age of three, where he died of a heart attack weeks later.
Although she spoke no English and was unable to continue her work as a marine engineer, according to her daughter, she “worked tirelessly to support our family”.
“She made sure I could take ballet and piano lessons and get the best education possible; she took me to art museums, concerts and theatrical performances; We walked through every garden and park in the city that we could find. She lived a busy life to ensure I could thrive.’
The last shark attack on Rockway Beach was in 1953, when a 15-year-old boy was bitten by a shark that was hanging from his fishing line. Before that, according to the New York Daily News, the last shark attack was in Rockaway Beach in 1909.
However, the Long Island coast is no stranger to attacks, with six attacks reported this summer.
Tatyana Koltunyuk, 65, was bitten by the shark just before 6 p.m. Monday while swimming off Rockaway Beach
The woman was bitten a few inches above her left knee (pictured) and admitted to Jamaica Hospital
According to the New York Post, the shark’s gruesome bite stripped the victim of 20 pounds of flesh.
According to crime reporting app Citizen, police tourniqued the victim before taking him to hospital in critical condition.
The FDNY confirmed to that officers responded to a call at 5:52 p.m. at Beach 59th Street and Rockaway Beach Boulevard. Swimmers were ordered out of the water shortly after the incident.
After the attack, police flew over the beach with a drone and helicopter to locate the shark, but to no avail. Parks Department officials said the FDNY and NYPD would continue aerial surveillance of the beach to keep an eye out for sharks.
“For safety reasons, Rockaway Beach will be closed to swimming and surfing today, August 8, due to recent shark activity,” Gregg McQueen, a spokesman for the parks department, wrote in a statement.
Rockaway Beach was closed Tuesday after a woman was attacked by a shark and found herself in serious condition. Police are gathering on the beach at 59th Street Monday night
Officials at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation set up a red flag on Tuesday, August 8, advising visitors that swimming is prohibited at Rockaway Beach
Police are gathering on Rockaway Beach at 59th Street after a woman was attacked by a shark early in the evening of August 7th. It was the first shark attack off Rockaway Beach since 1953
Parks Department officials said the FDNY and NYPD would continue aerial surveillance of the beach to keep an eye out for sharks. Pictured is a surveillance drone on the beach Monday night
According to park officials, it was the first shark attack on Rockaway Beach “recently.”
The incident follows shark sightings off Rockaway Beach last year, which also led to the city closing the beach to swimmers last July.
The attack is the latest in a series of incidents in recent weeks. Though attacks are rare as far west as the Rockaways, swimmers are at greater risk farther east along Long Island.
A Long Island shark expert told Daily News it was likely Monday’s attack was due to poor visibility in the water.
“It was very windy today, the water was choppy.” The water is probably a bit cloudier. “All of this increases the potential of these bites,” said Christopher Paparo, director of the marine laboratory at Stony Brook University.
A teenager was attacked by a shark during a trip to New York’s Fire Island on the July 4th bank holiday weekend. This attack was one of six attacks on Long Island that year.
In the July 4 Bank Holiday incident, officers from the Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau were called to the shore of Fire Island and around 5:20 p.m. rushed to the aid of the 15-year-old who had been bitten off at Kismet Beach.
The teenager was then taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip for medical attention.
Last year there were six shark attacks in just six weeks
Prior to 2022, New York had recorded just a dozen unprovoked bites. According to data from the International Shark Attack File, which tracks shark attacks around the world, only four people have been bitten by sharks in the past decade.
Last year, eight people said they were bitten by sharks swimming in the shallows off Long Island’s beaches.
“We’re more vigilant now than ever,” said George Gorman, Long Island regional director for New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
While the injuries weren’t serious, he and others are concerned about the increase in shark sightings and encounters.
Last year, the US had 41 out of 57 confirmed cases worldwide, accounting for a shocking 72 percent of the global total in 2022, according to the International Shark Attack File.
More specifically, Florida is by far the shark capital of the world, recording 16 unprovoked, nonfatal bites last year — the most attacks of any other state or single location.
The state’s Volusia County, known as a shark hotspot, saw 44 percent of all attacks.
With a total of eight attacks, New York had the second most attacks last year. Next came Hawaii with a total of five bites, one of which ended fatally.