Photos Show Dramatic Rescue After Great White Shark Attack Off Mass. Coast

Authorities on Thursday released dramatic photos of the rescue of two kayakerswho were attacked by a great white shark off the coast of Plymouth Wednesday night.

The women, identified by WCVB as Ida Parker and Kristin Orr, were kayaking off White Horse Beach when the shark chomped on one of their kayaks. Both of the kayaks flipped over. The women started screaming and an onlooker called for help. The Plymouth Harbormaster dispatched a boat and the women were pulled to safety. The shark swam away.

Photos released by State Police show the boat rescuing the women—along with bite marks on the kayak. John Chisholm, of State Marine Fisheries, said the size and pattern of the bite suggest it was an “exploratory bite.”

“We were just talking and paddling,” Parker told WHDH. “I look over to talk to her and (the shark) came completely out of the water and got the bottom of the boat and flipped her over and knocked my kayak completely over.

“The scariest part was sitting in the water thinking he was waiting, wondering where he was.”

State Police said a helicopter will fly over the area Thursday to try and locate the shark.

Last week, authorities spotted a great white shark off the coast of Duxbury, a few miles north of Plymouth. It was unclear if it was the same one involved in Wednesday’s attack.

The last great white shark attack on a human in Massachusetts was In 2012, when a great white bit a man on the leg off the coast of Truro. The man survived.

Photo: This Plymouth Harbormaster boat rescues two kayakers after they were attacked by a great white shark Wednesday. (Credit: Mass. State Police)