Woman, 30, dies after shark rips off her leg while cruising on British pleasure boat in the Canary Islands
18 September 2024, 06:10 | Updated: 18 September 2024, 10:48
A woman has died after having her leg ripped off by shark during a pleasure cruise off the coast of the Canary Islands.
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The 30-year-old woman, who was said to be a crew member aboard a British-flagged catamaran, died after going for a dip in the sea on Monday evening.
The woman, believed to be a German national, was rushed to a hospital by Spanish Air Force helicopter following the attack, which took place 278 miles south-west of Gran Canaria’s airport.
However, the woman was sadly pronounced dead after being evacuated to nearby Doctor Negrin Hospital, located in the Gran Canarian capital of Las Palmas.
Spanish officials are now expected to begin interviews with the crew aboard the pleasure boat following the tragic event.
A Mayday call was heard from the catamaran at around 3.55pm on Monday.
The catamaran she was travelling aboard is believed to be the Dalliance Chichester - a 17-meter-long vessel.
Spanish Coastguards are said to have informed their Moroccan counterparts due to the boat being located in disputed international waters.
The UK coastguards were also informed, given the catamaran was a British flagged vessel.
However, according to the Mail Online, Moroccan authorities refused to transfer the fatally injured woman to the Moroccan capital Rabat for emergency medical treatment.
Moroccan authorities have been contacted by LBC for comment.
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The boat departed the popular Spanish holiday hotspot on September 14, before heading south towards the coast of Morocco.
The Spanish coastguard is also said to have issued an alert to all shipping in the area near the catamaran, with one vessel responding by taking medical supplies to the fatally injured woman aboard the Dalliance Chichester.
However the woman was pronounced dead shortly after 11pm local time after going into cardiac arrest aboard the Spanish helicopter evacuating the victim.
Since records began, there have been only seven recorded instances of shark attacks on humans in the Canary Islands.
None of them have been fatal.
