One injured in shark attack off San Miguel Island

One person was injured Saturday in a shark attack off the coast of San Miguel Island in Santa Barbara County.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Aidan Cooney said Monday morning that the person was transported via helicopter to the hospital in stable condition. Cooney declined to provide any identifying or personal information about the victim, including his or her name, age, gender or hometown.

“There was a shark attack. We airlifted the person who was attacked to the hospital,” he said in a phone interview. “We received the call at 11:24 a.m. on Saturday. Our helicopter arrived on scene at 12:44 p.m. And we transferred them to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital at 1:23 p.m.”

Cooney also declined to provide additional information about the circumstances of the attack, including what specific injuries the person sustained, what roles any other agencies may have played after the attack and the person’s current medical status.

“They were airlifted from the vessel that they were on,” Cooney said. “Our job in this was just facilitating the transfer.”

A spokeswoman for Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking additional information.

The attack comes just two months after the only fatal California shark attack of 2021, which killed a 42-year-old man in Morro Bay on Christmas Eve.