A Bull Shark Killed A US Tourist In The Bahamas & She Was Snorkeling In A Popular Spot
She was on a cruise with her family 😢
A bull shark with a diver. Right: Tourists at a beach in the Bahamas with a cruise ship.
A U.S. cruise ship passenger was attacked and killed by a shark while snorkeling at a popular spot in the Bahamas earlier this week, officials say.
The passenger, a 58-year-old mother from Pennsylvania, was on holiday with her family on the Royal Caribbean ship Harmony of the Seas, reported CNN.
The cruise ship was docked in the Northern Bahamas for a snorkeling excursion when the attack happened, police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told The Associated Press.
According to Skippings, the woman's family identified the animal as a bull shark.
"It's unfortunate," said Skippings. She added that the victim suffered injuries to her "upper extremities," without going into detail.
Royal Caribbean International said the passenger was taken to a local hospital where she died of her injuries.
"Royal Caribbean is providing support and assistance to the guest's loved ones during this difficult time," the company said in a statement to the AP.
The ship had commenced its trip from Florida on Sunday, and the attack happened on Tuesday.
It's been three years since the last shark attack in that area of the Bahamas. A California woman was attacked and killed by three sharks near the same spot in 2019.
Although shark attacks often make headlines, they're actually quite rare.
There were 137 shark-human encounters reported overall last year, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the Florida Museum of Natural History, which keeps track of all the data.
Of those 137 incidents, the ISAF says 73 were "unprovoked" shark bites and another 39 were provoked bites on humans. Of those attacks, 11 people were killed overall and nine of them were related to unprovoked attacks, the ISAF said.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.