Yale graduate and runner, 22, is FOOT bitten off by a shark while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos
An American woman had her foot bitten off by a shock while snorkeling in the visiting Turks and Caicos – and it couldn’t be reattached because an emergency plane took six hours to arrive.
The 22-year-old from Connecticut was celebrating her graduation from Yale University with her boyfriend on the island when the horror attack happened, a local source on the island told Dailymail.com.
She had signed up for an ocean tour and was going snorkeling along Grace Bay Beach at the Bone Yard dive site at 3 p.m. Wednesday when she was ravaged by what was either an oceanic whitetip shark or a tiger shark, the source said.
Shocking photos show the woman’s left foot bitten off, still webbed. The boat’s captain is said to have dived in to save her before she was rushed to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
He then took her foot out of the water and placed it on ice. However, it was too late to rejoin an emergency plane after waiting six hours to fly the woman, who has not been publicly named, from the hospital on the island to a hospital in Miami.
An American woman visiting Turks and Caicos was bitten on the foot by a shark while snorkeling
The 22-year-old from Connecticut signed up for an ocean tour and was snorkeling along Grace Bay Beach at the Bone Yard dive site at 3 p.m. Wednesday when she was attacked by a shark
She celebrated her graduation from Yale University with her friend on the island, a local source told Dailymail.com
An employee described her as an ‘impressive young woman’ and said she had just run a marathon in the Netherlands last week.
“It was a super rare incident. I’ve lived here for 14 years and there’s only been one other incident where there was a shark bite and nothing got ripped off,” he told Dailymail.com.
“It is shocking what happened, I am heartbroken for her.”
The woman and her boyfriend stayed in a vacation home that her parents owned when she took the snorkeling trip in the reef at Grace Bay Beach.
The ship’s captain, trained in first aid, placed a tourniquet on her leg and prevented her from bleeding.
An employee called the police at around 3pm to request an ambulance and she was immediately taken back to the wharf where emergency services were waiting for her.
The captain then dove back into the water and managed to find her foot still in the flipper and it was placed in a bucket of ice before time ran out to surgically reattach it.
The woman is in stable condition and is expected to meet her parents at a Miami hospital.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources for Turks and Caicos said: ‘Yesterday at the Bone Yard dive site in Princess Alexandra National Park, a 22-year-old female visitor from Connecticut was seriously injured while snorkeling.
‘Immediately after the incident, around 3:07 p.m., a call was made to the police control room.
The woman was snorkeling in the reef at Grace Bay Beach when she was bitten by the shark
“Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force officers responded quickly and ensured the injured visitor was swiftly transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Center for emergency care.
The matter is still being investigated by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
“While incidents like this are highly uncommon in the Turks and Caicos Islands, swimmers, snorkelers and divers and boat operators are reminded to exercise caution on the water.”
There were many reports that the woman lost her leg after snorkeling in the waters at Blue Haven Resort, based on a police statement, but the details were wrong.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force later deleted their statement on Facebook.
Shark attacks are extremely rare, and the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File recorded just 57 unprovoked bites worldwide last year, five of which were fatal.
Most shark attacks are said to be a mistaken identity when sharks mistake humans for prey.
However, oceanic whitetips, called “the most dangerous of all sharks” by French naval officer Jacques Cousteau, can be aggressive towards humans. They have been noted as a danger to those stranded at sea, according to the Smithsonian, and are very powerful during food frenzy.
Tiger sharks are also among the most dangerous sharks for attacking humans, with National Geographic claiming they are second only to great whites in attacking humans.
Experts recommend that people stay close to shore and swim with a friend to stay safe and avoid wearing shiny jewelry or clothes that could attract sharks.