PORT OF SPAIN — A 64-year-old British tourist has lost his arm and leg after being mauled by a bull shark on the southeastern Caribbean island of Tobago.
According to Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, Peter Smith was in waist-deep water when the attack happened near the Starfish Resort in Courland Bay, a popular tourist destination in Tobago.
Augustine said the bull shark was approximately eight to 10 feet long, and two feet wide.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” fellow tourist Stephanie Wright told The Mirror. “I saw a dorsal fin come out of the water and thought, ‘’Oh my God, it’s a shark.’’
Augustine said that the attack happened just 30 feet from the shore on Friday, April 26, at 9:15 a.m.
Officials said that the tourist was hospitalized in an intensive care unit following the attack.
He said the victim’s left hand had been severed from the elbow down, his left thigh was also severed, and he also received lacerations to his stomach.
Photos from the Chief Secretary’s office showed graphic images of Smith’s severe shark bites along his body.
A shark attack on a British tourist in the southeastern Caribbean prompted the government of Trinidad and Tobago to close seven beaches and a marine park. (Encyclopedia Britannica/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Chief Secretary said that he had spoken to the British High Commissioner and the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard and the agencies were closely monitoring the area.
“Currently, we are doing drone reconnaissance/surveillance, Coast Guard surveillance, and the Department of Fisheries is combing the area to ensure safety,” Augustine said.
Shark attacks are rare. Last year, there were 69 unprovoked attacks and 22 provoked bites worldwide, along with 14 fatalities, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.
Seven beaches were closed following the attack.