By Khalida Sarwari
A 27-year-old man is recovering at a San Jose hospital today after he was bitten by a shark while surfing at Marina State Beach in Monterey County over the weekend, a California State Parks spokeswoman said.
The shark attack occurred around 7 a.m. on Saturday.
The victim, Eric Tarantino, of Monterey, was surfing with a friend when his friend heard him yell, “Shark!” state parks Monterey Sector superintendent Dana Jones said.
She said the two started paddling back to shore and it was at that point that the friend saw that Tarantino had been bitten. He and others used towels on Tarantino’s wounds to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived.
Tarantino was airlifted to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, where he remains today and is in stable condition, Jones said.
He suffered lacerations to his hands, arms, and neck, she said.
The friend was not harmed.
Jones did not know the size of the shark.
The last shark attack at Marina State Beach occurred four years ago when a man was bitten by a shark but survived, according to Jones.
“He was doing everything right,” Jones said of Tarantino. “You should always surf with at least one other person.”
