'It bit a man's arm off:' 911 calls reveal panicked onlookers after shark attacks two teenagers
Two teenagers lost their left arms after the unprovoked attacks in North Carolina
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Your support makes all the difference.911 calls to police have revealed the terror and horror of the recent shark attacks at beaches in Oak Island, North Carolina.
Two teenagers lost limbs just a few miles and an hour and 20 minutes apart on 14 June, with both swimming 18 metres offshore in waist-high water.
A 12-year-old girl lost her left arm below the elbow and injured her leg, while a 16-year-old boy lost his left arm above the elbow.
Recordings of calls to the police show the hysteria and panic on the beaches following the attacks:
"It bit a man's arm off! He's bleeding, we need an ambulance!" cries one individual, with the 911 operator asking the caller whether the individual was still alert.
In another call, a 911 operator asks, "Are any of the fingers completely amputated?"
The caller responds, "It looks like their entire hand is gone."
Randy Giles and his fiancee, Schalene Wolford, were on the beach when attack on the girl occurred, believing it at first to be a jellyfish sting.
"But when (the man next to her) pulled her out of the water, she was bleeding and a lot of her arm was bit off, so I knew it was a shark," Giles said.
Surgeons had to amputate the girl's left arm below the elbow while the boy lost his arm below his shoulder. The pair were said to be in a good condition on the evening of 15 June.
Deputies have said they saw a 7-ft long shark in the area near to where the attacks occurred. While authorities have said they are not trying to hunt a shark down at the moment, safety officials were seen scouting for sharks from both boats and a helicopter on 15 June.
Additional reporting by the AP.
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