Holidaymakers are being warned to ‘exercise extreme caution’ after a British tourist was seriously hurt in a horror shark attack. The man is fighting for his life after being rushed to an intensive care unit, officials said.
The 64-year-old was wounded on the Caribbean island of Tobago on Friday, April 26. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has shut seven beaches and a marine park in the wake of the mauling.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has since updated its advice for British tourists travelling to the area. UK tourists ‘should check and follow the advice of local authorities’, it said.
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The FCDO said: “Following a shark attack on a tourist at Turtle Beach/Courland Bay on April 26, the Tobago authorities have temporarily closed the Buccoo Reef Marine Park (BRMP) until further notice. This closure is effective immediately and applies to all recreational activities, including snorkelling, diving, glass-bottom boat tours, and any other water-based activities within the park boundaries.
“The Tobago authorities strongly advise all beachgoers, fisherfolk, and mariners to exercise extreme caution when operating in the coastal areas surrounding Plymouth, Courland Bay, Black Rock, Mt. Irvine, Buccoo, Pigeon Point, Store Bay, and all areas in between. You should check and follow the advice of local authorities.”
The government said in a statement that shark sightings were reported in the Grafton area and the Buccoo Reef Marine Park. Officials said the closures will allow the Coast Guard and Department of Fisheries to investigate the incident and ‘neutralise the shark threat, if possible’.
According to the BBC, the man sustained serious injuries to his left arm, left leg and stomach. A local official said the tourist was attacked by a bull shark 10m off the shore in Courland Bay, on the island’s north coast.
The shark was estimated to be 8ft to 10ft long and 2ft wide, according to a statement by the Tobago House of Assembly. In a press briefing, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said the injured tourist was ‘stable and doing well’.
But he remained in the intensive care unit and was being kept under sedation. The man had had some fingers reattached but ‘significant wounds’ to one of his legs remained which would need ‘extensive work’.
He said: “The task at this time for our health professionals is really to stabilise and ensure that we can save life and limb as much as possible.” The British man had been in Tobago with his wife and friends.
They had been due to fly home on Friday, Mr Augustine said. He added that the local government was working closely with the British High Commission to ‘ensure that the family gets all that they need during this difficult time’.
Shark attacks are rare – last year there were 69 unprovoked attacks, 22 provoked bites and 14 fatalities worldwide, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.
