A shark encounter Wednesday morning gave three snorkelers memories they'll never forget.
They all escaped with minor injuries from waters off Oahu's North Shore.
Lauren Russell
Regan Russell is here on Oahu visiting his daughter, Lauren.
We met them outside Wahiawa General Hospital. Both sporting gauze-covered bite marks.
"It's pretty deep," Lauren said, describing her wound. "I have quite a few sutures in there."
The father and daughter said they were on a snorkel cruise run by Hawaii Adventure Diving, a company that operates out of Haleiwa Boat Harbor and advertises likely encounters with sharks in a cage-less environment.
The crew took them several miles off shore of Haleiwa. The Russell's say when the five snorkelers and one guide jumped in the water only a few sharks could be seen. But, as Lauren explained, the crew on the boat tried to draw in more.
"Then they kind of revved the boat a little bit to get more sharks to come out," said Lauren. "Then there were like 15 sharks and hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of fish. And we almost got caught in a frenzy. Fish were eating each other. Sharks were eating the fish."
In the so-called frenzy , Lauren and one other snorkeler were both bitten by the same shark. Lauren on her hand. The other man on his shoulder.
The injured were rushed back to shore, where they were met at Haleiwa Boat Harbor by Honolulu Emergency Medical Service officials just before 11 am.Regan watched his injured daughter get back to the boat. That's when he said he was bitten by possibly a different shark.
"I was about 15 feet from the boat, and he came up and nailed me on the arm," said Regan.
"It wasn't immediately painful. It was just I got bit. It was kind of unreal," he said. "it was more the impact than the pain at the moment."
It's unclear what type of shark bit the Russell's and the third snorkeler, but Lauren said the tour group explained before heading out they'd likely see sand and Galapagos sharks.
The identity of the third snorkeler is not yet known.
The tour company, Hawaii Adventure Diving, has not yet returned our requests for comment.
https://www.kitv.com