Feb. 10 (UPI) — Two American women visiting the Bahamas over the weekend were attacked by a shark, local authorities said, with at least one of the victims sustaining serious injuries.
The shark attack happened around 6:30 p.m. local time Friday as the two women were swimming in Bimini Bay, located about 50 nautical miles from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement that the women received treatment at a local clinic before being airlifted to New Providence for further medical attention.
The incident is under investigation.
Earlier this month, a teenage girl was killed in a shark attack in Australia’s Queensland. Charlize Zmuda, 17, suffered a “serious shark bite,” on Feb. 3 and was pronounced dead at the scene about 15 minutes later.
Though shark attacks loom large among the public’s imagination, they are extremely rare.
According to research by the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, there were 69 unprovoked shark bites in 2023. Of those bites, 36 occurred in the United States, resulting in two deaths, and 15 occurred in Australia, resulting in four deaths.
