Shark bites off both hands of woman who “attempted to engage” with it
Canadian tourist Nathalie Ross has lost both hands in a shark attack while trying to take a picture with the predatory animal.
The incident occurred last Friday at around 10:30am in the shallow waters off Thompson’s Cove Beach on Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.
Ross’s husband attempted to fend off the shark before she was brought to shore.
The 55-year-old woman had only strayed a few yards into the water when she was attacked, per The Telegraph (UK).
The local authorities said she “attempted to engage” with the shark when the 6ft-long predatory fish struck.
It is understood she had one of her arms amputated below the wrist and the other half way up her forearm. She has since returned to Canada for further treatment.
The species was not confirmed, but local reports suggested it was a bull shark.
Her horrified husband rushed into the water in the hope that he could drive the shark away before it could strike again.
Tourists gathered around the victim and used their clothes to stem the bleeding.
Video footage captured by another tourist showed the shark in the vicinity ahead of the attack. It had been swimming in the area for around 40 minutes before striking.
“The shark was estimated to be approximately 6ft in length. However, the species is yet to be confirmed. It has been determined that the tourist had attempted to engage with the animal from the shallows in an attempt to take photographs,” the authorities said.
Following the incident, officials temporarily closed Thompson’s Cove Beach until midday on February 9 after determining that the shark had moved into deeper waters.
Footage has since surfaced showing a shark thrashing in the water near the site of the attack.
The waters surrounding the Turks and Caicos Islands are known to host a variety of shark species, including tiger sharks, bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, and reef sharks, according to Visit Turks & Caicos Islands.
The attack comes just weeks after a similar tragedy in Australia, where 17-year-old Charlize Zmuda was killed by a shark while swimming off Woorim Beach on Bribie Island, Queensland.
Shark attacks rare in Turks and Caicos
Shark attacks are rare in the Turks and Caicos, with only one reported last year. Nevertheless, authorities in the Caribbean have urged caution.
In the Cayman Islands feeding sharks has been illegal since 2022 because of the risk to swimmers and divers.
“Some people believe feeding sharks is great for business or will increase tips from customers, and some even mistakenly believe that conditioning sharks to take speared lionfish will somehow teach them to hunt lionfish out of reef crevices.
“But teaching sharks to take food from divers only really endangers both humans and sharks,” the Cayman authorities warned.
It is estimated that around 83 people a year are the victims of unprovoked shark attacks.
In some parts of the world shark attacks are on the rise, notably off the coast of southern Australia and the US eastern seaboard.
In July 2020, Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City. Holowach, the former president of handbag designer Kipling USA, was killed by a shark while swimming off the coast of Maine.
According to the International Shark Attack File, the rise is due to the number of people entering the water.
“The more sharks and people there are in one place, the greater the chance of them bumping into each other,” explained Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.
– The Telegraph (UK).
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