18.02.2025 11:00
A 55-year-old Canadian tourist trying to take photos while swimming in the Turks and Caicos Islands was attacked by a shark and lost both of her hands. The woman was attacked while attempting to interact with the shark in shallow waters to take pictures.
A Canadian tourist trying to take a photo with a 2-meter shark while swimming in the Turks and Caicos Islands lost both of her hands due to the shark's attack.
The 55-year-old woman was snorkeling off the main island of Providenciales on February 7 when she "attempted to interact with the animal to take pictures in shallow waters." This information was included in a statement from the Turks and Caicos Department of Environment and Coastal Resources.
According to officials speaking to the Daily Telegraph, the shark bit the woman's arms while she was a few meters off the shore.
The tourist's horrified husband jumped into the water to scare off the shark.
According to a report by the Herald, the woman's identity has not been disclosed, but one of her arms had to be amputated at the wrist, and the other arm was cut off halfway up the forearm. She was airlifted to Canada for advanced treatment.
Officials could not definitively identify the species of the attacking shark, but they believe it was a bull shark.
On the same day, two American tourists were also attacked by sharks in the Bahamas.
The beach in Turks and Caicos was closed following the incident but reopened on February 9.
According to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida, there were a total of 88 shark attacks worldwide last year. Of these attacks, 24 were caused by humans provoking the sharks.