Three people were seriously injured in two shark attacks about 90 minutes apart on Florida's panhandle, according to officials.
Walton County officials said they received a call about the first attack at 1:20 p.m. Friday near Watersound Beach, where a 45-year-old woman was swimming with her husband when the shark attacked, Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
She suffered serious trauma to her midsection and pelvic area, and her lower left arm was amputated.
The is in critical condition in a local hospital.
The second attack toccurred shortly before 3 p.m. at Seacrest Beach, about 4 miles away from the first encounter.
Two girls - 15 and 17 years old - were in waist-deep water with a group of friends when they were attacked.
One girl had significant injuries to her hand and foot, and is in critical condition.
The other teen received a minor injury to her foo, and is in stable condition.
"Double red flags are now flying on the beaches in the surrounding area. The Gulf is now closed to the public in Walton County in the localized area of the incident," the Walton County Sheriff's Department said in a statement on Facebook.
It added that people are encouraged to stay out of the water in the area.
Officials said they contacted the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota to investigate the attacks and determine if there was anything "anomalous" in the area, the Daily News reported.
"We want to be diligent in what we do," Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said, according to the newspaper. "We know that we share the water with sharks. We understand that as tragic as this is, there are always sharks in these waters. We have to be careful of that."
