Two individuals are recovering from shark attacks in Australia and the Bahamas.
In the Bahamas, an unidentified 10-year-old was bitten by a shark on Jan. 15 while participating in a “Walking With The Sharks” adventure at Atlantis Bahamas Resort. The child, visiting from Maryland with his family, was equipped with a heavy dive helmet and scuba tank during the guided experience directed by Stuart Cove. Divers accompanied the group as they walked along the bottom, surrounded by reef and nurse sharks.
Around 4 pm, witnesses observed two reef sharks behaving aggressively, causing the boy to lose his footing. Unfortunately, one of the sharks bit his right leg near the calf. Video footage depicted the bleeding child at the surface, with his mother realizing the situation and screaming in distress. The boy’s father jumped into the water, assisted his son to dry ground, and then carried him to guest services for aid.
“Incidents like this involving interactions with marine life, even with the species of sharks included in this experience, are rare and never acceptable,” Stuart Cove stated in a release. An immediate response from a dive instructor and guide in the water provided medical attention. The adventure has been temporarily closed pending an investigation.
In another incident, a vacationer, Lauren Erickson Van Wart, 44, from Boston, was killed in a shark attack in Nassau, Bahamas, on Dec. 4, 2023. She was paddleboarding with her husband when a suspected tiger shark struck.
A woman was severely injured in a shark attack in Australia.
Lauren O’Neill 29, was swimming on January 28 off Elizabeth Bay, New South Wales when she was attacked by a shark. Just before 7:45 p.m., she was swimming from a boat to a private dock when a shark bit her leg.
She managed to reach the dock and was treated by a veterinarian who lives near the area and happened to be at the scene.
“She had been attacked about 20 meters off from the jetty – there was blood all throughout the water and all over the jetty,” the veterinarian’s husband, who wishes not to be identified, said. He added that the wound was so severe that he speculated if she had been further from the docks, she might have died. Witnesses believe a bull shark may have been the culprit.
Images from the scene showed a blood-stained dock and towels indicating serious injury. She was taken to St Vincent’s hospital in stable condition. Witnesses said another person was swimming further out and they called them back in.
A beloved young surfer was killed in a shark attack on December 28 in South Australia. Khai Cowley, 15, was enjoying the waves off Ethel Beach with his dad when a large white shark surfaced around 1:30 p.m. and killed the teen.
All locations have been marked on the 2024 Shark Attack Map.
