US tourist killed in shark attack while paddle boarding in Bahamas

File photo: On Nov 21, a 47-year-old German woman went missing during a diving excursion in waters off West End, Grand Bahama, after encountering a shark, police said. Picture: REUTERS/Animal Planet/Handout

File photo: On Nov 21, a 47-year-old German woman went missing during a diving excursion in waters off West End, Grand Bahama, after encountering a shark, police said. Picture: REUTERS/Animal Planet/Handout

Published Dec 5, 2023

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By Jasper Ward

An American woman died after she was attacked by a shark while paddle boarding in The Bahamas on Monday, police said.

The woman, who was in her 40s and visiting from Boston, was with a male relative when the attack occurred near a resort in western New Providence, according to police, who added that the pair were rescued by a lifeguard.

"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," police said.

The woman was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.

While fatal shark attacks are not common in The Bahamas, at least two others have been reported recently.

On Nov 21, a 47-year-old German woman went missing during a diving excursion in waters off West End, Grand Bahama, after encountering a shark, police said.

In September 2022, a 58-year-old American woman was killed in a shark attack while snorkelling with her family in waters of New Providence.

In early November, a search was underway for the body of a man who was attacked by a shark while surfing in the Australian state of South Australia, Xinhua reported.

The 55-year-old man was surfing at a beach at Streaky Bay, more than 450km west of Adelaide on the Great Australian Bight, when he was attacked and dragged underwater by the shark.

Police initially said a person was seriously injured in the attack but later said emergency services were searching for the man's body and the shark.

Jeff Schmucker, a fellow surfer who witnessed the attack from his jetski, said it was a 4.2 meter great white shark that attacked the man from the side.

Schmucker told Seven Network television that he arrived on the scene within 60 seconds of the attack but that there was no sign of the victim.