The recent shark attacks in North Carolina that left two swimmers missing limbs have many beach-goers a little nervous.
A California beach lifeguard unit is taking to the sky to watch for sharks and keep swimmers safe, using quad-copter drones.
The new drone was launched by Southland Lifeguards in June 2015.
In the first 10 minutes, lifeguards knew there were 10 to 12 sharks just feet from the shoreline.
The drone even recorded video of a young Great White in waist-high water at surfside.
No swimmers were in the water at the time.
Could it have made a difference in Sunday’s attacks in N.C.?
A 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy each lost an arm Sunday in separate shark attacks at the same N.C. beach.
Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace told CNN that the female swimmer was attacked first, around 4:15 p.m. Less than 90 minutes later, as responders were still tending to her, the boy was then attacked.
“His arm was clean off,” said witness Jason Hunter, who spoke with CNN affiliate WWAY.
Both victims were airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. Both arrived in critical condition, according to hospital spokeswoman Martha Harlan.
Harlan said they’ve each had an arm amputated; his below the shoulder, hers at the elbow. The female also sustained serious tissue damage to her leg, according to Harlan.
Wallace told CNN that shark attacks are so rare at Oak Island — a southerly facing beach town on the state’s southern most coast — that she couldn’t remember one occurring before Sunday.
Witness Jason Hunter told CNN affiliate WWAY that the shark in the attack on the boy was seven or eight feet long. And although the mayor said they are not certain, “common sense would tell you it was the same shark,” she said.
