A 65-year-old woman was bitten by a shark off New York City’s Rockaway Beach Monday, the first such attack at a city beach in 70 years.

The woman, as of yet publicly unidentified by authorities, was swimming off the part of the beach near Beach 59th Street in the borough of Queens at 5:50 p.m. when a shark bit her in the left leg.

Beach lifeguards evacuated other ocean goers from the water and the general area after the bite. Subsequent searching for the shark by New York Police Department helicopters did not turn up any specimens. 

The woman’s gash wound was put in a tourniquet by first responders before she was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Police said her condition was serious but stable, according to New York’s Daily News.

As a precaution, NYC’s Parks & Recreation Department closed Rockaway Beach to swimmers and surfers Tuesday.

Before Monday, the last time a person was attacked at the beach was Sept. 3, 1953.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.