Shark Attacked a 10 Year-Old Boy in Bahamas
Last Monday a shark attacked a 10-year-old boy at the Paradise Island Atlantis resort. Since 2006 the resort offered a shark tank experience for their guests without any incidents. On Monday, January 15 this all changed.
A boy from Maryland, who has not been named yet, was at the resort in the tank with other guests and around 15 sharks. The largest shark is about 8 feet long. According to the resort, only 5 guests max can be in the tank with three resort chaperones. The excursion takes place at Atlantis Mayen Temple, called Adventure Zone, run by Blue Adventures. The guests walk around the shark tank with Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks for 15-20 minutes and are sent back out, ending their experience.
Last week, a woman was recording around the pool when she captured the video of the boy screening in pain. In her video, the staff wearing blue shirts was screaming “Run” multiple times. There was a lot of commission before the short video ended.
According to the report, the boy was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery on his right leg. On Wednesday evening the boy flew back to the States, to continue his recovery. There was no mention what type of shark attacked the 10 year-old boy.
For now, the Walk with Sharks experience has been closed until further investigation. Cove, who owns Blue Adventures released a statement saying that they are “deeply saddened that a child suffered a shark bite during an in-water experience.” They also said that “A dive instructor and dive guide were in the water with the guest when the incident occurred and immediately responded to provide medical attention.”
Shark Attacks in Bahamas
While this is the first shark attack incident at the resort water adventure, it’s not the first for Bahamas. Last month a 44-year-old woman was attacked by a shark and died while paddleboarding. According to the International Shark Attack file world map from Florida Museum, there have only been 33 unprovoked shark attacks in the Bahamas since 1580.