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Surfer hospitalized after Calif. shark attack

A surfer is hospitalized after being attacked by a shark off a California beach.
SHARK ATTACK MARINA, CALIF.
California State Park Lifeguard Kevin Brady holds a surfboard with a shark bite in it after an attack at Marina State Beach in Marina, Calif. on Saturday. David Royal / AP
/ Source: msnbc.com news services

A 27-year-old California surfer suffered multiple injuries after being attacked by a shark in Monterery County on Saturday.

The Monterey Herald reports Eric Tarantino was attacked about 7 a.m. Saturday while surfing with a friend at Marina State Beach.

The surfers had been in the water for about 10 minutes when the shark bit Tarantino on the neck and right forearm.

Tarantino's friend, Brandon McKibben of Salinas, Calif., helped him out of the water, and other surfers rushed to apply a tourniquet by using beach towels to try to stop his bleeding, according to the newspaper.

Authorities say Tarantino was taken to a local airport by paramedics and flown to a San Jose hospital.

His condition wasn't immediately known. However, Dana M. Jones, Monterey Sector Superintendent for the California Department of Parks and Recreation, said Tarantino's injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

Following the attack, Tarantino's damaged surfboard was placed in the back of a state park ranger's patrol car in the beach parking lot. A few fellow surfers stopped to examine the board's new gashes.

Jones said signs will be posted along the area's beaches advising of the shark danger and recommending that beach-goers refrain from water activities for the next week.

She said the waters will be observed in the coming days for additional shark activity.