A 12-year-old girl was airlifted from South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island after being bitten by a shark, officials have reported.

The incident occurred on Tuesday in the waters off Sea Pines, Hilton Head. According to Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, the girl sustained “a leg injury consistent with lacerations typically associated with a shark bite.”

“She has lost good amount of blood so far,” a first responder stated in dispatch audio obtained .

The unnamed preteen received immediate treatment from Shore beach Services and Fire Rescue personnel before being airlifted to Savannah, Georgia, for further medical care. Authorities have confirmed that her injuries are not life-threatening.

This marks the second shark bite incident involving a child in recent days. On June 11, 9-year-old Leah Lendel was attacked near Boca Grande on Florida’s west coast while snorkeling, resulting in a severe hand injury.

Leah was transported to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries to reattach her hand and spent several days in intensive care.

“I didn’t see anything.I was just snorkeling,” Leah said during a news briefing on Thursday. “I went up to breathe. And then, something hard bit me and tried to take me away.”

“Then I pick up my hand and is all in blood,” Leah added. “I start screaming with my mom.”

The two attacks have left beachgoers feeling uneasy as the summer season begins.

“It’s kind of nerve-racking,a little bit,” said Naomi Vereb,a visitor to Hilton Head,in an interview .

While unprovoked shark attacks are uncommon, they do occur. In 2024, the International Shark Attack File, managed by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the university of Florida, investigated 88 alleged shark-human interactions globally, confirming 71 shark bite incidents. Of these, 47 where classified as unprovoked, with four resulting in fatalities.

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