A 30-year-old German woman has died following a rare shark attack in the Atlantic Ocean near the Canary Islands. The incident occurred while the woman, whose identity has not been released, was swimming beside her catamaran, approximately 320 miles south-southwest of Gran Canaria, Spain, and 112 miles west of Dakhla, Western Sahara, on Monday, September 16, 2024.
According to Spain’s Guardia Civil, the woman was aboard a British-flagged catamaran, the Dalliance Chichester, which departed from Gran Canaria. During the attack, a shark bit off one of her legs, causing significant blood loss.
Emergency services were alerted, and Spain’s coastguard service, Salvamento Marítimo, dispatched a helicopter to evacuate her. Unfortunately, she suffered a heart attack during the flight and was pronounced dead at Doctor Negrín Hospital in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.
Shark attacks in the Canary Islands are exceptionally rare. The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF) reports only six confirmed shark-related incidents in Spain’s history. Globally, shark attacks are also infrequent, with 69 unprovoked attacks and 14 fatalities recorded worldwide in 2023.
This fatal attack comes amidst a handful of notable shark-related fatalities this year. In July, a surfer in Australia lost his leg in a similar incident, while in Jamaica, a 16-year-old high school student was killed by a shark just a month earlier. Other shark-related fatalities have been reported in Hawaii and Mexico this year, though such incidents remain statistically low compared to other causes of death at sea.
While the species involved in the attack has not been identified, large predatory sharks like the great white, tiger shark, and bull shark are known to occasionally come into contact with humans. Despite this tragic event, experts reiterate that shark attacks remain rare in the Canary Islands, a popular vacation destination known for its temperate climate and clear waters.
