The family of a tourist, who had both of her hands bit off by a shark after trying to take a selfie with the fish, is speaking out. They described it as "what can only be described as a nightmare."
The incident happened at the Blue Hills, Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands on February 7. Following the incident, the tourist was taken to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre. From there, she was transported off the island. According to the woman's brother-in-law, she's receiving ongoing treatment. They set up a GoFundMe page.
He wrote, "While on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, my sister-in-law and her husband, my brother, lived what can only be described as a nightmare."
Shark Bites Tourist
Noteably, the family does not mention that the tourist tried to take a selfie with the animal. They described a different series of events.
They wrote, "After leaving the beach to join her husband, in only hip deep clear water, a seven-foot bull shark came at my sister-in-law and bumped into her legs. The shark then circled around and bit her thigh. Not satisfied, the shark came back again. And when she put both hands in front of her to protect herself, the shark cut off both of her hands. One at mid forearm and the other at the wrist. Her husband, having rushed back to help. Then managed to wrestle away the shark and stayed between her and the shark until she walked out of the water and collapsed on the beach."
From there, the woman was flown back to Canada. The brother also wrote, "My brother served our country in the Canadian Armed forces for over 30 years with tours in Kuwait, twice in Afghanistan, Golan Heights, Haiti and Bosnia. He served our country with pride; it's our turn to help them. This is something that has completely altered their life in the blink of an eye. I ask, if you can, to please help them; they will need a lot of support to get through this. Any and all contributions will be greatly appreciated."
