The California waters may look serene from the surface, but underneath, there is a deadly battle going on for survival. Recently, a 52-year-old kite surfer and tech CEO fell victim to this battle and lost his life. Felix Louis N’jai was attending a wedding on Wildcat Beach in California when he went missing after a shark attack. The ferocious incident rattled the local community, who mourned his passing for several days. Now, a similar attack on a man his age has reminded the community of that fateful incident once more.
This time, the shark attack took place at Linda Mar – Pacifica State Beach in the state. The 52-year-old victim was nicked on the leg and had a deep gash with copious amounts of blood flowing out. However, in a twist, the man could not confirm if it really was a shark that attacked him. But an eyewitness report had a different story to tell.
Eyewitness account contradicts victim’s uncertainty about shark attack
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The surfer got attacked just north of the lighthouse on Linda Mar – Pacifica State Beach on October 13. Evan Barbarick saw the whole incident and reported it to Fox KTVU, saying, “So my friend and I were surfing next to the guy that got attacked. And he basically mentioned something along the lines of, ‘Hey, I got bit and was sort of struggling in the water.’ And my friend asked him if there was a bad bite and he said yes”.
They pulled him out of the water onto their surfboard and brought him back to shore. When they were out of the shark’s dominion, Barbarick and his friend inspected the victim’s leg. Indeed, he had a deep wound on the “side of his leg”.
Barbarick had spotted the shark attack victim floating in a pool of his own blood from 7 metres away. The shark attack took place shortly before 4 p.m. in the evening when the waves were starting to rise.
Despite the decent height of the waves, not many surfers took the bait. However, the 52-year-old shark attack victim was lucky that Evan Barbarick and his friend were nearby to hear his call for help. On the shore, the two heroes called the police and the medical helpline for assistance.
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Heroes’ timely intervention
The two men stayed by the shark attack victim’s side until the police and the paramedics reached the scene. The police officers who responded to the distress call said that the man could not tell which animal had bitten him. However, he was certain that it was something big and powerful. The paramedics patched up his leg injury to stop the bleeding, but he needed to go to the hospital. The two eyewitnesses watched as the medical professionals took him to the local hospital in an ambulance.
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As per the heroes of the day, he did not look in any danger. However, the victim was a bit shaken up, as can be expected from someone in such a situation. Despite the close shave with a life-threatening situation, the beach authorities are reluctant to post warning signs within the perimeter of the swimming zone. This has unsettled the local community, who are fearful of another such attack in the coming days.
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