US Tourists Injured by Apparent Shark in Bahamas

Two American tourists have been injured in a suspected shark attack in the Bahamas. The women were swimming in waters off Bimini, the Bahamas' westernmost district about 50 miles east of Miami, around 6:30pm Friday when they sustained injuries to the lower body, ABC News reports. They were treated at a local clinic, then airlifted to a hospital in New Providence, CNN reports. The Royal Bahamas Police Force described one woman's injuries as "serious." Both have since returned to the US, with one to undergo a third surgery on her leg in Orlando, per ABC.

The Bahamas ranks ninth among countries with confirmed unprovoked shark attacks, with just 34 recorded since 1580, according to the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File. However, this is the "third reported shark attack involving American tourists in the Bahamas since 2023," per CNN. In December 2023, a newlywed Boston woman died after she was attacked while paddleboarding off the western end of New Providence Island, per Fox News. A month later, a 10-year-old Maryland boy was bitten by a shark during a "shark tank" experience. He survived. (More Bahamas stories.)