Woman attacked by shark on NYC beach was saved by hero lifeguards’ tourniquet made out of sweatpants

A woman who lost a chunk of her leg in a shark attack at a popular New York City beach was saved by a pair of hero lifeguards who jumped into action and used sweatpants to make a tourniquet.

The 65-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, was swimming alone in the ocean at Rockaway Beach just before 6pm on Monday when a shark bit her left leg, the city parks department said in a statement.

The bite left a gaping wound several inches wide and deep, according to a photo shared with The Associated Press.

Bill McDonnell, 24, and Romeo Ortiz, both lifeguards at the beach, sprung into action when they heard the woman’s screams and pulled her from the water.

The duo got crafty and used the sweatpants and rope from an orange rescue float as a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding, Mr McDonnell’s mother Janet McDonnell told the New York Daily News.

“Their quick thinking saved that woman’s life,” Ms McDonnell said. Her son, who works as a substitute teacher during the school year, has also been a lifeguard for the last eight summers.

She said Mr McDonnell told her that the “whole back of her leg was gone.”

“He didn’t think she was going to make it. She was bleeding profusely. He said he was just holding her hand ... They actually thought she was going to bleed out on the beach in front of everybody.”

The woman was rushed to Jamaica Hospital where she is listed in stable condition, a hospital spokesperson told The Independent.

“It was definitely a group effort,” Ms McDonnell added. “It was great that they had some senior lifeguards there to jump in. If the lifeguards didn’t step in and do that crafty tourniquet first, I don’t know if [police] would have made it on time.”

A city worker who was at the beach during the attack recalled the frightening scene as the woman struggled to swim back after the attack.

“Chunks were washing up on the beach,” he told the Daily News.

The beach was closed on Tuesday but reopened on Wednesday.

“Though this was a frightening event, we want to remind New Yorkers that shark bites in Rockaway are extremely rare,” Parks spokeswoman Meghan Lalor said. “We remain vigilant in monitoring the beach and always clear the water when a shark is spotted.”

The bite appeared to be the most serious shark attack in New York waters since at least the 1950s, said Gavin Naylor, the program director of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, told the Associated Press.

He said the bite mark was most consistent with a juvenile white shark, though he said it may have also been a bull shark or sandbar shark.

“This is a very severe injury from something that’s powerful and unambiguous,” he added. “It’s very deliberate.”

Shark sightings and minor bites have become more frequent in New York waters, as the predators are drawn closer to shore by a growing population of bait fish that have flourished under recent conservation efforts.

In the past two summers, at least 13 swimmers reported being bitten off the coast of Long Island, surpassing the total of reported bites throughout New York history prior to 2022. None of the recent injuries were considered serious, however.

On Rockaway Beach, a bustling city shoreline that often attracts more than 100,000 people in a single day, officials have repeatedly closed stretches of water after shark sightings in the past two summers.