Shark kills German tourist off Canary Islands
A German tourist has died after being bitten by a shark off Spain’s Canary Islands, the local coastguard reported. The 30-year-old woman lost her leg before dying of a heart attack after when she was transported in a Spanish rescue helicopter, a spokesperson for the Spanish coastguard told AFP.
The victim who has not been identified at the time of writing had been sailing in a British catamaran in the Atlantic, around 278 nautical miles or over 500 kilometres southwest of the Island of Gran Canaria when the animal struck.
Spanish emergency services received an alert at 1255 GMT calling for a medical evacuation. They reached out to their counterparts from Morocco who told them that they did not have the suitable rescue equipment in the area. The emergency services instead dispatched a mililary plane along with a helicopter hoping to rescue the tourist.
The woman was then taken on board the helicopter in the evening at around 1800 GMT and was to be taken to a hospital in the town of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria when she died.
Vesselfinder.com, a boat tracking website indicated that the boat, the Dalliance Chichester, left the port of Las Palmas on, 13th September.
Shark attacks are very rare in the region, according to Atlantico Hoy. Only six such attacks have ever been recorded in the area since the 16th century when records began to be taken. Earlier this year however, a terrifying video footage surfaced of a shark charging towards people on a beach in Gran Canaria.
Worldwide, there are fewer than 100 annually with 2015 being a record year with 98 attacks. The United States and Australia account for the majority between them. In 2023, there were around 69 attacks and ten deaths worldwide caused by sharks with surfers being the most common targets.
