Shark rips off Yale graduate’s foot as she celebrated off luxury Caribbean island
A Yale graduate had her foot bitten off by a shark while snorkeling off a luxury island during a "celebratory" Turks and Caicos trip.
The marathon-runner, 22, from Connecticut, was visiting the Caribbean archipelago with a friend to mark the milestone when she was attacked on Wednesday, according to reports.
The pair were swimming off Grace Bay Beach, a stretch of white-sand often listed as one of the world's best beaches, during a private boat tour when she was bitten by what is believed to have been a Caribbean reef shark.
The captain of the boat is said to have dived into the water to rescue the woman. He applied a tourniquet to her leg before she was rushed to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
He then retrieved her foot from the water, but medics were reportedly unable to reattach the limb because of a six-hour wait to airlift the woman to a Miami hospital.
Graphic pictures show the woman's detached left foot still in her flipper.
The woman, who has not been named, was described as an "impressive young woman" who had run a marathon in the Netherlands last week, sources told MailOnline.
Big Blue Collective, which had organised the tour, said in a statement the attack was "extremely rare".
A spokesman said: "Only two individuals were in the water, which was clear and calm, when a presumed Caribbean reef shark left one snorkeler with an injury due to what is known in diving circles as a case of mistaken identity."
The friends are understood to have been staying at a nearby holiday home owned by her parents.
"It was a super rare incident. I have been living here for 14 years and there has only been one other incident where there was a shark bite and nothing was ripped off," a local source said.
"It's shocking what happened, I feel heartbroken for her."
Shark attacks are rare. The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File last year confirmed 89 bites on humans - 57 of which were unprovoked.
An original police statement wrongly stated the attack happened near a $1,000-per-night luxury hotel where Beyonce and Jay-Z had previously stayed.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources for Turks and Caicos said: "Yesterday, at the Bone Yard dive site in Princess Alexandra National Park, a 22-year-old female visitor from Connecticut was severely injured while snorkeling.
"Immediately after the incident, at approximately 3:07 p.m., a call was made to the Police Control Room.
"Responding swiftly, officers from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force ensured the injured visitor was quickly transported to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre to receive emergency care."
They said the incident is still under investigation and it was not yet a confirmed shark attack.
She added: "Though incidents such as these are highly unusual in the Turks & Caicos Islands, swimmers, snorkelers and divers and boat operators are reminded to exercise caution on the water."
