A German tourist died after a shark bite on Monday while sailing near Spain’s Canary Islands, as reported by the local coast guard.
The 30-year-old woman lost a leg in the incident and subsequently died of a heart attack while being transported in a Spanish rescue helicopter, a coastguard spokesperson informed AFP.
The unidentified victim was sailing on a British catamaran in the Atlantic, approximately 278 nautical miles (over 500 kilometers) southwest of Gran Canaria when the shark attacked.
Spain’s emergency services were alerted at 1255 GMT for a medical evacuation. They contacted their Moroccan counterparts, who indicated they lacked the necessary rescue equipment in the vicinity. Emergency services then sent a military plane and helicopter to assist the woman.
She was brought aboard the helicopter around 1800 GMT and was en route to a hospital in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria when she passed away, the spokesperson stated.
Boat-tracking website vesselfinder.com revealed that the vessel, the Dalliance Chichester, departed from the port of Las Palmas on September 14.
Shark attacks in this region are exceedingly rare, Atlantico Hoy noted, with only six recorded since records began in the 16th century.
Earlier this year, alarming video footage captured a shark charging towards beachgoers on a beach in Gran Canaria.