Truro beach open, police investigate possible shark bite

TRURO, Mass. (WHDH) -- A man was rushed to a hospital after he was bitten on both legs possibly by a shark off a Truro beach Monday.

It happened just after 3:30 p.m. Monday. Witnesses on the beach say the man and his son were swimming and body surfing when they saw a distinct dorsal fin. A 911 call mentions a shark attack, but officials have not confirmed it. Shark experts were called to the scene.

“We could hear the youngest son apparently shouting, ‘help, help, help us -- help me,’” said Anne-Marie Corner, who witnessed the attack at Ballston Beach.

The man's legs were bandaged up and a squad of first responders carried him off the beach on a stretcher Monday afternoon.

“All of a sudden between the two swimmers we saw a fin come up and something came through the water -- it was a very large fin, easily 15 inches high and came across and torqued a little towards the second swimmer and within seconds we realized it was a shark and the swimmer had been attacked,” Corner said.

A beach full of visitors -- that witnesses say included a doctor and nurse -- jumped into action.

“It was very apparent he was bleeding profusely from his feet and ankles,” Corner said.

“It was like two people and then this large, dark blue black thing came up and kind of torqued around and you saw this big dorsal fin like went back down,” said Walter Palmer.

There have been concerns about sharks all summer. Earlier this month, a kayaker had a close call with a shark. And since June, there have been several shark sightings around seals near Chatham.

Officials have called in experts to try and figure out if Monday’s attack was a shark. But witnesses at the beach say after what they saw, they're already convinced.

The beach office said the beach will be open on Tuesday.