A 19-year-old woman had her leg removed by a shark at Boa Viagem beach in Recife, Brazil one day after an 11-year-old boy had a leg amputated following a shark attack at nearby Piedade beach in Jaboatão dos Guararapes.
On Sunday, 31 May, 11-year-old João Lucas Castor Nemezio Sales was swimming in shallow water with relatives at Piedade beach when he was bitten on his thigh and hand by a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas, known locally as cabeça-chata).
João Lucas was pulled from the water by family members, assisted by other beachgoers and taken to the local Air Force hospital before being transferred to Hospital da Restauração in central Recife.
‘He has truly already passed the worst moment and, at this moment, although serious, he is stable. Upon arrival, he was in severe haemorrhagic shock and went straight to the operating room,’ said Dr Petrus de Andrade Lima.
‘The injury removed all the muscle from his leg and damaged the large veins in his leg. He lost all the blood in his body right there from the animal bite.’
João Lucas underwent emergency surgery during which his left leg was amputated. Local media reports he also suffered fractures to his left hand, but is now stable and recovering from the operations.
‘He underwent an amputation of his left lower limb and treatment for the fracture in his left hand,’ said Lima. ‘He didn’t lose his hand. Amputation of his leg was necessary because the injury was extensive and could not be revascularised.
‘He is stable at the moment, he is moving, and the plan is to wean him off mechanical ventilation today [1 June].’
The species of shark involved was confirmed by Danise Alves, Executive Secretary of the Comitê Estadual de Monitoramento de Incidentes com Tubarões (State Committee for Monitoring of Shark Incidents, CEMIT), in an interview with G1 Pernambuco. She also said that recent heavy rains may have contributed to the incident.
‘Yesterday, conditions were atypical,’ said Alves. ‘It rained the day before, the water was murky, there were waves and winds. So, the water was still shallow.
‘We already know the species. It’s a bull shark, probably around 2.5 meters long, judging by the size of the bite arc. It’s an animal that has behavioural characteristics of going to shallow waters to investigate food.
‘Unfortunately, we have to be very careful when swimming in the open sea, even in shallow waters.’
19-year-old bitten at Boa Viagem
In a separate incident on the afternoon of the following day, 19-year-old Marcela Vitória de Lima Santos was attacked by a tiger shark, estimated to be around 3 metres in length, while swimming at Boa Viagem, approximately 10km away.
Marcela’s leg was torn off during the incident, before she was pulled out of the water by lifeguards and members of the public – including her cousin.
A doctor on holiday in Recife intervened and applied a tourniquet improvised using the drawstring from Marcela’s shorts, and applied pressure to her severed femoral artery to control the bleeding.
Marcela was taken to the local Hospital Alfa, in Boa Viagem, and later transferred to Hospital da Restauração, in central Recife for surgery
Her cousin, security guard Jonas André de Lima, told TV Globo he pulled her from the water after she began calling for help.
‘We were having fun there, we went to the beach to have a good time,’ said Lima. ‘She said she was going to take a swim, and suddenly the shark attacked her there on the beach.
‘That was the moment she was attacked, she was screaming: “Jonas, Jonas”, calling my name. Then I went to the shore to help her too. I pulled her to the edge of the beach, and a lot of people came to help.’
A spokesperson for Hospital da Restauração said Marcela underwent surgery on Monday night and remained in a serious condition in intensive care.
‘Atypical conditions’
Speaking to Brazilian media, CEMIT’s Danise Alves confirmed the species as a tiger shark from a photograph taken of the animal.
‘Right away, when we received the first information, we immediately started identifying the species,’ she said. ‘From the photo, we were able to identify it as a tiger shark, 3 meters long, an adult animal.
‘Late afternoon and early morning are when this species is most active, searching for prey.’
According to Brazilian media reports, Alves also noted that the attacks occurred during high tide and in turbid water. Swimming is not prohibited at either of the beaches, but shark warning signs are present.
The two incidents bring the total number of recorded shark attacks along the Pernambuco coast to 84, since monitoring began in 1992. Most have taken place in the same Greater Recife area around Boa Viagem and Piedade beaches.
It is thought that the unusually high number of shark-biting incidents is due to a combination of factors, including the outflow of nearby rivers, port developments and fishing activities attracting the sharks closer to shore.
Both of the victims are reported to be in serious condition, and both remain in hospital.
Related articles
