US paddleboarder dies after shark attack in The Bahamas
The victim suffered serious injuries and was pulled out of the water by a lifeguard but died at the scene.
Tuesday 5 December 2023 05:32, UK
A US woman has died after being attacked by a shark while paddleboarding in The Bahamas.
Police said the victim in her 40s was with a male relative when the incident happened near a luxury resort in New Providence.
A lifeguard rescued the pair but the woman couldn't be saved.
"CPR was administered to the victim. However, she suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body, including the right hip region and also her right upper limb," said police.
The woman, who was visiting from Boston, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fatal shark attacks are extremely uncommon but there have been two others in recent years in The Bahamas.
On 21 November, a 47-year-old German woman went missing after encountering a shark while diving off West End, Grand Bahama.
An American woman, 58, was also killed in September 2022 when she was attacked while snorkelling off Green Cay.
Witnesses said they believed a bull shark was responsible.
Baiting for tourist dives in The Bahamas has historically conditioned sharks to associate humans with food, says the International Shark Attack File (ISAF).
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Another shark death took place last week off Melaque in western Mexico when a local was attacked while swimming with her five-year-old daughter.
She was apparently trying to boost the girl on to a floating play platform when she was bitten.
The risk of dying from a shark attack is 1 in 4.3 million, according to ISAF.
It compares with US figures of 1 in 84 for a car accident, 1 in 1,134 for drowning, and 1 in 218 for a fall.