SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A Boston tourist was killed Monday by a shark while kayaking in the Bahamas, police told reporters.
The victim, whose identity has not been revealed, was attacked less than a mile from the western tip of New Providence Island, where the capital, Nassau, is located. She was kayaking with a man who was not injured, according to police Sgt. Desiree Ferguson.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences… in this extremely unfortunate situation,” she said.
Police said a rescuer rescued the two people with a boat upon seeing what was happening, but the woman suffered serious injuries to the right side of her body and was pronounced dead at the scene despite CPR efforts.
It was not immediately clear what type of shark attacked the woman. The police supervisor did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida International Shark Attack File Program, said in an interview that two shark-related deaths have been reported in the Bahamas in the past five years.
He pointed out that the Bahamas has a large number of tourists, adding that there are a lot of people in the water and a lot of visitors who want to watch sharks from a fishing boat or dive with them.
“So the sharks adapt, and the animals become a little less cautious than they might be,” he said.
Between 30 and 40 species of sharks live throughout the Bahamas, although the Caribbean reef shark, bull shark, tiger shark and blacktip shark have the highest bite rate, Naylor said.
“It’s usually an accidental bite. They think it’s something else,” he said. “Occasionally, they actually tag people, and that’s very intentional.”
Naylor said fatal shark attacks are rare, with only five to six attacks reported on average worldwide annually, with most occurring in Australia. Last year, there were a total of 57 unprovoked bites worldwide, most of them in the United States, according to the International Shark Attack File.
At least 33 unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in the Bahamas since 1580, with the island ranking ninth globally, according to the file.
The Nassau Guardian newspaper reported that authorities in the Bahamas are still searching for a German woman who went missing late last month after she was apparently attacked while diving.
Last year, a shark killed a US cruise ship passenger from Pennsylvania who was snorkeling in the northern Bahamas near Green Cay.
Most shark attacks in the Caribbean occur in the Bahamas, although a rare shark attack was reported in the French Caribbean region of Saint Martin three years ago.
