Bahamas shark attack: PA woman killed while snorkeling, police say – USA TODAY

Dnica Coto| The Associated Press

Pennsylvania woman sailing from Florida to Bahamas killed in shark attack

A woman traveling on a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral, Florida has died from injuries she sustained during an encounter with a shark.

Fox - 35 Orlando, Fox - 35 Orlando

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico A shark attacked and killed a U.S. cruise ship passenger who was snorkeling in waters around the Bahamas on Tuesday, authorities said.

The incident involved a 58-year-old woman from Pennsylvania and occurred at a popular snorkeling spot near Green Cay in the northern Bahamas, police spokeswoman Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told The Associated Press.

Its unfortunate, she said.

Skippings said the womans family identified it as a bull shark.

Royal Caribbean International said in a statement to the AP that the woman died after arriving at a local hospital for treatment and that the company is helping her loved ones. They said the guest was on an independent shore excursion in Nassau and had been sailing on Harmony of the Seas, which is on a seven-night trip after departing Florida on Sunday.

Summer of sharks: Has there been an uptick in attacks? Here's what we know

Most shark attacks in the Caribbean have occurred in the Bahamas. Two were reported in 2019, one of them fatal. That incident involved a Southern California woman who was on vacation and was attacked by three sharks near Rose Island, just a half mile from the site of Tuesdays attack.

In December 2020, a fatal shark attack was reported in the French Caribbean territory of St. Martin, the first such incident in that region.

Overall, at least 32 shark attacks have been reported in the Bahamas since 1749and 13 attacks in Cuba during that time period, including one in 2019, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.

What lies beneath coastal waters?Beware of sharks swimming closer to shore

American alligator attacks are rare.What to know about safety, size and location in graphics

Michael Heithaus, a marine biologist at Florida International University in Miami, said in a phone interview that the high number of attacks in the Bahamas is probably the result of a lot of people in the water in that area and a robust marine ecosystem.

He said the Bahamas has a variety of shark species, the majority of which do not pay attention to people, except for bull sharks and tiger sharks.

They get to very large sizes, and they eat big prey, Heithaus said, adding that sharks have incredible sensory systems and can be attracted to food, sounds and smells in the water.

What's everyone talking about?Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

But overall, shark attacks arerare, he said.

Worldwide, there were 137 shark attacks last year, 73 of them unprovoked, according to the International Shark Attack File.

Read this article:

Bahamas shark attack: PA woman killed while snorkeling, police say - USA TODAY