Florida’s Fernandina Beach Reopens on Heels of Shark Attack

Both the victims, who were attacks within minutes have sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are recovering in the hospital.

The beaches of Florida, the shark attack capital of the world, saw more than one-third of the 88 unprovoked shark bites that were documented by the Florida Museum of Natural History around the world last year.

That said, shark encounters are quite rare as you go up the state's Atlantic coastline, with almost no reported attacks in the northernmost Nassau County. On the other hand, vast majority of these attacks were witnessed on the southern beaches between Miami and Cape Canaveral.

But on Friday afternoon these statistics were blatantly defied, as two consecutive shark attacks within minutes of each other saw two people severely injured and Fernandina Beach being shut down.

The beach is located about 25 miles northeast of Jacksonville, just south of the Georgia border.

According to a statement released by the City of Fernandina, a second swimmer was attacked less than two miles down the coast as soon as the ambulance arrived at the beach to pick Theobald.

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, in the last 135 years, only four shark attacks had been recorded in Nassau County before Friday afternoon. On the other hand, over 800 attacks were reported across the state in the same period.

Having said that, the last encounter at Fernandina Beach was recorded over three years ago. At the time, a shark dragged a 12-year-old boy through waist deep water, and the boy had to punch the predator to break free from its grasp.

Officials at Fernandina Beach flew red flags to warn people away from the waterline as soon as the second attack took place. A sheriff's truck rolled along the shoreline, warning beachgoers to move out with a loudspeaker. The scattering of the people wading out of the waters late Friday afternoon was recorded by News 4.

Currently, both victims have sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are recovering in the hospital.

Rescue crews learned from witnesses on the beach north of Jacksonville that they had seen fins emerge from the waters.

The beach was finally reopened on Sunday morning. According to authorities, the rare double attack came after several years.