A French tourist was attacked and seriously injured by a shark on Saturday night in the popular holiday destination of Seychelles located in the Indian Ocean off East Africa.
The 45-year-old woman was in the waters of a beach in Amitie, Praslin, which is the second biggest island in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The victim suffered serious injuries to her arm and was taken to hospital after the incident.
The French ambassador to the islands, Dominique Mas, said in a statement, “She underwent an operation last night and her life is not believed to be in danger,” reports the Seychelles News Agency.
As the attack took place during the peak tourism season, people are being warned to steer clear of the waters for the time being. France is the main source market of Seychelles.
Shark attacks are relatively rare in the Seychelles, although in 2011, a British and a French tourist were killed in August 2011 off Praslin.
Last month, body parts were found as part of a shark-catching program to reduce attacks off another Indian Ocean island, La Réunion. They are believed to be those of a British man who went missing earlier in December.
The 3.4-meter (11-foot) predator was caught as part of research to reduce the risk of attacks in the Indian Ocean tourist paradise, where 24 shark attacks have occurred in the past nine years, 11 of which were fatal. A fisherman and a surfer died this year after confirmed shark attacks.
White Shark Killed Experienced Scuba Diver in Western Australia
An experienced scuba diver was killed by a white shark off Western Australia’s southern coast on Sunday, January 5, 2020. Gary Johnson had just entered the water when he was attacked at about 1 pm near Cull Island, close to West Beach in Esperance.
Johnson was president of the Esperance Dive Club, a member of the Esperance Squash Club and worked for a local farming machinery retailer.
The Esperance area is notorious for shark attacks. In April 2017, Laeticia Brouwer, 17, died after she was bitten while surfing with her father at Kelp Beds. In October 2014, surfer Sean Pollard lost his left arm and right hand after he was mauled by two white sharks at Kelp Beds.
