Tragedy struck on Monday at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau after a 44-year-old American tourist was attacked and killed by a shark while paddle boarding.
“Preliminary reports indicate that the victim, along with a male relative, was paddle boarding away from the shoreline in waters at the rear of a resort in western New Providence when she was bitten by a shark,” per a release by the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
The woman was about three-quarter miles from shore just before 11:15 a.m. when a lifeguard on duty saw the attack. They took a lifeboat to get the woman and an unidentified male relative out of the water and performed CPR.
A view of Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Offshore Island on June 15, 2018, in Nassau, Bahamas (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Sandals Royal Bahamian)
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The RBPF said that the woman had “significant trauma to the right side of her body” before showing “no vital signs of life” after being examined by an on-site EMT.
Authorities said that an official identification process will be conducted for the woman’s family in the coming days.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of a guest while on a paddleboarding activity nearly a mile from the shore,” Sandals said in a statement to ABC News. “We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the guest’s family and loved ones. We remain in close contact with them and are providing all support possible during this difficult time.”
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The incident follows a September 2022 attack by a bull shark that left a 58-year-old woman dead while snorkeling with her family near Green Cay in the Bahamas.
According to data from the International Shark Attack File obtained by the Associated Press, only 33 unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in the Bahamas since 1580.
