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Pennsylvania woman killed in Bahamas shark attack

The victim and her family were cruise ship passengers and were visiting the Bahamas for the day.

WASHINGTON — A 58-year-old woman from Pennsylvania was killed Tuesday after she was attacked by a shark while snorkeling in the Bahamas, police said. 

The woman and her family were passengers on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas and had booked an independent shore excursion in Nassau. 

The local tour company brought the family to go snorkeling in Green Cay, about half a mile from Rose Island, a private island off the coast of Nassau, authorities said in a press conference.

Around 2 p.m., the woman was attacked by a shark while she and her family were snorkeling, police said. Five to seven people were snorkeling when the attack occurred. No other injuries were reported. 

"It is further reported that family members observed a bull shark attacking the female," police described.

Family members and workers with the tour company got the woman back in the boat and took her to shore, where emergency crews pronounced her dead at the scene, police said. They added that the victim suffered injuries to her upper body. 

In a statement, Royal Caribbean said it is "providing support and assistance to the guest’s loved ones during this difficult time." The Harmony of the Seas is on a 7-night cruise that left Port Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday. 

Authorities have yet to say where in Pennsylvania the woman lived. 

The deadly attack comes one month after an eight-year-old British boy was reportedly attacked by several nurse sharks while swimming in a lagoon in the Bahamas. 

Overall, shark attacks on humans remain extremely rare. There were just 73 confirmed unprovoked shark attack cases in 2021, including 9 fatalities, according to The Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File. The U.S. had the most out of any country, accounting for 47 of the 73 reported attacks.

 

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