A tourist swimming with dolphins has lost both her hands and her breast in a shark attack.
The woman, 35, had been in a lagoon in French Polynesia with her family, including her six-year-old son who witnessed the attack.
They were there on a whale watching trip and had left the lagoon to follow dolphins in the open sea when the shark struck on October 21.
French station Radio 1 report that when she was taken back to shore, she was still conscious and asked: ‘But why did you take me there if it was not safe?’
She was given first aid at a nearby hotel before being taken to Taaone Hospital where her condition is now stable according to reports.
A witness told the radio station: ‘I saw this woman who had no arms, the arm on the left side was hanging down and her hand was hanging. Her rib on her right-hand side was also swollen. It was a huge panic for everyone.’
France Info reported that the shark responsible was an oceanic whitetip, known locally as a parata.
They said a judicial inquiry had been opened to try to determine exactly what happened on the South Pacific island of Moorea.
According to the International Shark Attack File, shark attacks in the area are rare with only six shark attacks in French Polynesia since 1580.
Worldwide, there were six fatal shark attacks and 84 incidents per year on average between 2013 and 2017.
By contrast, fisheries kill about 100 million sharks and rays annually.
