Teen bitten by shark on NC Outer Banks in serious condition

WAVES, N.C. (AP) -- A hospital spokeswoman says the latest victim of a shark attack off North Carolina's coast arrived in critical risk of dying, but his condition has improved.

Carol Flynn said Sunday the teenager arrived at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday in critical condition. Flynn says he was in serious condition on Sunday.

The shark attack was the second in as many days on the Outer Banks and the sixth in the past two weeks along the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Flynn said the man was 18. The National Park Service described him Saturday as 17.

The park service said on its Facebook page that the teen suffered injuries to his right calf, buttocks and both hands while swimming with others.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Officials say a 17-year-old boy is the latest victim of a shark attack off North Carolina's coast, the second attack in as many days and the sixth attack in the past two weeks.

Rescue personnel and park rangers responded to the boy, who received what they described as injuries to his right calf, buttocks and both hands while swimming in the Outer Banks on Saturday, according to a post on the National Park Service's Facebook page. The boy was swimming with others when he was bitten, but no one else was hurt, officials said.

The unidentified teenager was treated at the scene before being airlifted to a Norfolk, Virginia, hospital, the park service said.

On Friday, a North Carolina man was bitten on his back and leg in Avon while playing in the surf with his children. A 43-year-old man was also attacked by a shark near Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on Friday. Both men were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Sharks have attacked several children along North Carolina's coast this month, including a 13-year old girl who lost her left arm below the elbow and a 16-year old boy who lost his left arm above the elbow, about 90 minutes apart, at Oak Island.

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