Maryland boy, 10, attacked by shark at resort in Bahamas airlifted back to U.S., officials say
A young boy from Maryland who was bitten by a shark at a resort in the Bahamas has been airlifted back to the U.S., officials said on Thursday.
The boy was bitten at the Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas resort on Monday and airlifted to the U.S. after being initially treated at a local hospital, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement.
The incident occurred at Atlantis Paradise Island's Blue Adventures, according to a statement from the company.
The 10-year-old boy, who was not named, was bitten while participating in an expedition in a shark tank at a local resort on Paradise Island, one of the nearly 300 islands in the Bahamas, the Royal Bahamas Police force said in a previous news release.
The incident occurred shortly before 4 p.m., the news release said. The boy was bitten on the right leg. He was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, according to the news release.
"A dive instructor and dive guide were in the water with the guest when the incident occurred and immediately responded to provide medical attention" before he was taken to the hospital, Stuart Cove's, the organization that runs the shark diving program for Atlantis, said Wednesday in a statement.
It's not clear if the boy was with family members when the attack happened.
Stuart Cove's said this was the first "guest-related incident" since it began this particular shark diving program in 2006. "The experience will remain closed during our investigation and as we review the findings," it said.
In December, a Boston woman was killed in a shark attack in the Bahamas. Lauren Erickson Van Wart, 44, was paddleboarding with a family member when she was bitten by a shark, CBS News previously reported. She was declared dead at the scene by emergency responders.
Shark attacks are rare, and fatal incidents are even more unlikely. The Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File investigated 108 alleged shark-human interactions worldwide in 2022, and confirmed 57 unprovoked bites and 32 provoked bites. Five of the cases could not be confirmed.
"It is extremely unlikely for swimmers and surfers to be bitten by — or even encounter — sharks," Lauren Gaches, director of public affairs for NOAA Fisheries, told CBS News previously.