Wareham Man Attacked By Shark In North Carolina

A shark attack off the coast of North Carolina's Outer banks left a Wareham man with injuries to his rib cage, lower leg, hip and hands.

Justin Gibbs, the emergency services director for Hyde County, North Carolina, tells NECN 67-Year-old Andrew Costello was about 30 feet offshore in waist deep water when he bumped into the seven foot shark and the shark attacked.

"He said that he was bit, the shark pulled him under, he was able to get away and he swam back to the shore on his own," said Gibbs.

The attack made Costello the seventh person attacked along the North Carolina coast in three weeks.

Local shark expert Greg Skomal tells WCVB that's a statistic he finds concerning.

"It's definitely very alarming," says Skomal "to have this number of incidents in this area over such a short period of time."

Costello is listed in fair condition at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina.