The Deadly Outer Banks Labor Day Shark Attack
A shark attack on Labor Day, September 3, 2001 brought international attention to the beaches of Hatteras Island, located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. On that tragic day, vacationers Sergei Zaloukaev, 28, and his girlfriend Natalia Slobodskaya, both Russian emigrants living in Oakton, Virginia were wading in the ocean near the Askins Creek area of South Avon, North Carolina.
Suddenly, at 6 pm, the two were attacked by a shark in waist-deep water only 25 feet from shore, according to friends vacationing with the couple.
Natalia later told investigators the shark attacked them multiple times during the two minutes they struggled to make their way back to shore. During the attacks, the shark bit into Sergei’s left leg, ripping flesh and severing the leg just below the knee.
Natalia’s first wound came as she tried to push the shark away from them with her arms. The shark bit into her left wrist and hand, severing her middle finger. As the couple fought to reach the safety of the shore, the shark attacked them from behind and swam between Natalia’s legs.
Natalia later recounted the sensation of the shark as it brushed against her during the attack.
"It was rough, it was disgusting, you know, the skin of a beast."
As they continued their struggle through the surf toward shore, the shark kept attacking. “It was all around us," Natalia later told reporters. The shark grabbed Natalia’s left hip with its jaws. The big shark’s teeth sank deep into her flesh, reaching into the bone and tearing out a 12-inch section of her left buttock. As she continued her flight toward shore, the shark’s jaws ripped her flesh along the leg, finally tearing her left foot off.
After the couple reached shore, Sergei bled to death on the beach waiting for the emergency squad to arrive. An autopsy would later reveal his death was caused by massive blood loss from a torn artery in his leg.
Natalia was airlifted to a hospital in Norfolk Virginia. She had lost a finger, her left foot and most of her left buttock to the attacking shark. She had months of surgeries and rehabilitation in her future.
Officials on the Outer Banks were unsure how many sharks were involved in the attack and no shark teeth were found in the victims, making identification of the type of shark involved difficult if not impossible.
Officials with the National Park Service reported that Hammerhead, Tiger, Reef, Blue, and Bull Sharks were frequent visitors to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches and may have been responsible for the attack. In addition, Great White Sharks have been spotted in the area.
Most shark experts believe a hungry Bull Shark was probably responsible for the attack that day on Hatteras Island. Only two days before the Labor Day attack, ten-year-old David Peltier was attacked and killed by a Bull Shark about 100-miles north of Avon in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In that attack the shark ripped a 17-inch gash in Peltier’s left thigh and did not release the boy until the boy’s father repeatedly hit the shark on its face and head.
After the shark released Peltier, the father carried his son to shore however, the bite had severed an artery and the young boy died within a few hours of the attack due to loss of blood.
I’ve lived in the outer banks my entire life. Fishing, surfing, swimming. I’ve had 12 foot bulls and 15 foot tigers swim under my board and watched them swim calmly around swimmers. Knowing that saying something would cause a panic and increase the likelihood of an attack I mostly don’t say anything unless there is an imminent threat. After years in the water you learn to read body language. Also Avon isn’t technically the outer banks it’s where they start which usually is even worse because it’s where rivers and sound meet the ocean. Known hunting grounds for bull sharks. Here on Hatteras island we have the big 3, whites, tigers and hammerheads. Point being if you’ve spent time in the water you’ve had sharks around you and never knew it. I Wear a shark band every time I go in the water and everyone should. Sharkbanz cost 150 dollars and could save your life. I’ve had sharks get within 15 feet and take off. Sharks aren’t evil ugly monsters. They are predators and the ocean is their home. You are a visitor. Humans aren’t special just animals, meat and bone. If a shark is hungry and you are in the water there’s a small chance that you are food. Don’t go in the water if you’re afraid. They can sense that too. If you do go in, buy a sharkbanz.
We vacationed in Avon for years and loved it. However, one year after the Avon and VA Beach attacked we were there when my husband calmly summoned me out of the water. When I reached shore my husband pointed to the water and up came an 18 inch dorsal fin. I was speechless. That day the waters were pretty calm for the OBX so it was easier to see things because the waves weren’t that high. We considered ourselves blessed because our children saw the fin and they all got out of the water quickly. There was a fisherman on shore who identified the shark as a bull shark. They are much smaller than a great white but equal it in their tenacity….
We vacationed in Avon for years and loved it. However, one year after the Avon and VA Beach attacked we were there when my husband calmly summoned me out of the water. When I reached shore my husband pointed to the water and up came an 18 inch dorsal fin. I was speechless. That day the waters were pretty calm for the OBX so it was easier to see things because the waves weren’t that high. We considered ourselves blessed because our children saw the fin and they all got out of the water quickly. There was a fisherman on shore who identified the shark as a bull shark. They are much smaller than a great white but equal it in their tenacity….
Although many years have passed since this tragedy the Avon area has seen big sharks many times before. We were paddling our surfboards under the Avon pier because the waves were so big and a rip-tide would pull you out quick there between sets . It was the morning after a hurricane had passed though and we saw 2 large sharks . We immediately got out from under the pier and rode the first wave to shore and called it a day. After that day we though more about sharks.
THANK YOU FOR THE REPORT. MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE VICTIMS. IVE SPENT MANY WONDERFUL DAYS CAMPING AND FISHING IN THE OUTER BANKS YEARS AGO. MY HEART LIVES THERE AND I IT ALWAYS WILL. MY LOVE OF THE RAW BEAUTY IS INTENSE. GOD BLESS ALL THOSE WHO FEEL THE SAME. IM NOW 65 yrs. old AND WISH I WAS THERE BUT IM CURRENTLY IN OREGON. TAKE CARE TO ALL OF YOU AND MY BEAUTIFUL OUTER BANKS!! BEVEUSTICE@outlook.com
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