A young boy from Maryland had a terrifying encounter with a shark while on vacation at a resort in the Bahamas. The incident took place as he was participating in a Shark Tank expedition on Paradise Island. The boy was bitten on his right leg and immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The investigation is currently ongoing.
After successful surgery at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, the capital city of the Bahamas, the boy was airlifted back to the United States in stable condition. Doctors Hospital Health System confirmed this in a statement, assuring that his care will continue in the U.S.
Authorities have not released the boy’s identity and have not disclosed the specific type of shark involved in the attack. The incident occurred at the Atlantis Bahamas resort. The company responsible for the shark tank experience has stated that they are fully cooperating with the investigation and have temporarily closed their expeditions.
Stuart Cove, the owner and operator of Blue Adventures, expressed his regret over the incident and emphasized that such interactions with marine life, even in controlled environments, are extremely rare and not acceptable. He assured that this is the first incident of its kind since the shark tank experience began in 2006.
Witnesses described the experience as initially serene and peaceful until the boy entered the water, at which point the sharks became agitated.
At first, the experience — led by guides — was calm. “Once the little boy came down, it just kind of took a dark turn,” Tori Massie told NBC News. “We saw the sharks hone in on him and then just like a pool of blood afterwards.”
It is important to note that shark attacks are highly uncommon. In 2022, the International Shark Attack File documented 108 shark-human interactions worldwide. Of those, only 57 were confirmed unprovoked shark bites, and 32 were considered provoked bites resulting from human-initiated interactions with sharks.
