PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Officials said a 15-year-old girl was likely bitten by a shark while she was surfing in Stone Harbor ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend.
Maggie Drozdowski, of Exton, Pennsylvania, was in the water Sunday afternoon, off of 109th Street Beach, when something suddenly grabbed her foot and pulled her underwater.
“It didn’t hurt but I felt pressure and I felt the teeth all around the bottom of my foot,” Drozdowski told NBC10. “My whole foot was in its mouth.”
She was with a friend, who, for a moment, thought Drozdowski was drowning.
“I got out finally and I looked at my foot and it was all bloody,” Drozdowski said.
There were no lifeguards on duty, so 911 was called and medics arrived to help. The girl was taken to the hospital, where she received six stitches. She had lacerations on her left foot and calf.
“After careful examination, it has been ascertained by the New Jersey State Southern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office that the injuries sustained by the surfer are consistent with those typically associated with a shark of unknown size and shape,” Stone Harbor officials said in a statement.
The odds of a shark attack in the U.S., according to the International Shark Attack File, are 1 in 11.5 million.
Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, officials said there is no plan to impose any restrictions, but they urge beachgoers to be vigilant.
NBC10 is a broadcast partner of KYW Newsradio.