A 68-year-old man bitten by a shark off the coast of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina on Wednesday has been upgraded from fair to good condition today. The man described the attack as “frightening and painful.”
The victim was identified by the hospital as Andrew Costello. Costello was bitten on his left side in his lower leg and hip and on both his hands, Hyde County EMS Director Justin Gibbs told ABC News.
Costello was taken to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, N.C., in fair condition after surviving the attack on Wednesday, according to the hospital. His condition has since been upgraded to good, the hospital said.
Costello called the attack “frightening and painful” in a statement today, adding that he feels “very fortunate to have survived.”
Costello will need several operations, Dr. Eric Toschlog, Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at Vidant Medical Center, said in a statement.
“We are optimistic that he will make a full recovery,” Toschlog said.
Costello “had been swimming in about 25-30 feet offshore in about waist-deep water” at the time of the attack, the National Park Service said in a statement. “There were no other swimmers injured.”
This was the seventh shark attack off the North Carolina coast since June.
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