A swimmer suffers serious injuries after being attacked by a shark in California

By Phil HelselNBC

A swimmer was attacked by a shark on Wednesday in California, suffering what police described as "significant injuries."

The attack occurred around 10:35 am on Lovers Point Beach in Pacific Grove, a city of about 15,000 people in Monterey County, south of San Jose.

Authorities said in a statement that other swimmers jumped in to help the attacked man.

Authorities and onlookers arrive at Lovers Point Beach in California, where a man was attacked by a shark. Giovanni Sercia / NBC News

Authorities flew a drone to search for the shark, but have been unable to detect it.

All Pacific Grove beaches will be closed through Saturday as a precaution, according to the Police Department.

Pacific Grove Councilman Joe Amelia told NBC affiliate KSBW of Salinas that

Shark attacks on humans in California are rare, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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This is the second case of a shark injury to a person in California this year, according to department spokeswoman Kirsten Macintyre.

The first was in February on the island of San Miguel, when a diver suffered a minor foot injury.

Since 1950 there have been 203 human-shark encounters in California, and Wednesday's incident was the 109th in which a person was injured, he said.

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In the past two years, two people have died and six others have suffered non-fatal injuries in encounters with sharks in California, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife's website.

Wednesday's attack was the second recorded incident involving a shark at Lovers Point.

, Macintyre added.

DNA tests will confirm what type of shark was involved in Wednesday's incident.