Two young people were severely injured in shark attacks in coastal North Carolina when they were swimming in shallow, waist-deep water, officials said Monday.

Sunday’s attacks in the small beach town of Oak Island – in which a 12-year-old girl lost part of her arm and suffered a leg injury and a 16-year-old boy lost his left arm less than 2 miles [3 kilometers] away – happened less than 90 minutes apart, town officials said. A spokeswoman for a local hospital where the victims were airlifted said both were in good condition Monday morning after surgery.

The victims’ names haven’t been released, but officials said both were on vacation from other parts of North Carolina.

Officials said they couldn’t confirm whether the same shark attacked the youths or give details on the size of the animal or animals.

At the time they were airlifted, the victims’ injuries were life-threatening, officials said. They credited life-saving efforts by beach bystanders and quick responses from emergency workers.

The beaches were not closed between the attacks, and Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace told The Associated Press she didn’t think there was enough time to do so.

The window of less than two hours didn’t give workers enough time to make that decision, she wrote in an email. Beaches were closed after the second attack.

Wallace said, “When something like this happens, everyone is on edge, but this is the first time in memory we’ve had an occurrence of this sort.”

On Monday, the beaches were open, with officials encouraging people to stay only in shallow water, local officials said.

Local Fire Chief Christopher Anselmo told NBC’s Today show that Sunday’s attacks were his first such experience in 16 years with the department.

“We can’t guarantee anything – these are ocean waters,” said Anselmo said. “There’s a lot of fish and sharks that are in the ocean. There’s nothing we can do to control that. We can only educate people to be careful in the water.”

 
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