A surfer was overcome with fear after her board was bitten Thursday by a shark in waters off of Kihei, Maui, but was able to safely paddle to shore thanks to another surfer, who stayed by her side and guided her in.

“She didn’t want to put her feet down and her hands in the water,” said Amy Weis, 48, of Kihei. “I just talked her into paddling in.”

Weis said she was surfing with her husband when she heard the woman screaming. Maui firefighters responded at about 9:15 a.m. to a report of a surfer in distress in the water approximately 150 yards off of Halama Street.

Weis said the woman, who appeared to be surfing alone, was more than 200 yards away when she heard the screams, caught a wave and paddled toward her. The woman, described to be in her 30s or 40s, was on her surfboard but not moving.

“She was really upset and quiet. It seemed she was frozen in the moment,” Weis said.

When Weis asked her whether she needed help, the surfer said, “Yes, there’s a shark.”

Weis said she coaxed the woman to paddle to shore even though the woman was reluctant to put her hands and feet in the water.

The water, Weis said, was glassy and winds were light at the time. She said she did not see any sharks, but saw a lot of turtles in the ocean.

It wasn’t until they made it to shore that Weis saw a crescent-shaped bite mark at the end of the woman’s surfboard. After seeing the damage, Weis yelled at her husband to get out of the water.

The woman’s harrowing experience left her in tears, Weis said. The woman told Weis she lives in Kihei.

Lifeguards and firefighters arrived and cleared oceangoers from the water as a precautionary measure. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources closed beaches from Cove Beach Park to VFW Post 3850.

Fire Services Chief Rylan Yatsushiro of Maui County’s Department of Fire and Public Safety said the woman estimated the shark was 6 to 7 feet long. The surfer was shaken but not injured, Yatsushiro said.

About four hours after the incident, Weis said she was thankful they safely made it shore.

“I’m just now grasping the reality how close we were,” she said. “Just feeling blessed and glad to be alive.”