An American woman had her foot bitten off by a shark while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos - and it could not be reattached because an emergency aircraft took six hours to arrive.
The 22-year-old, from Connecticut, was celebrating her graduation from Yale University with her friend on the island when the horror attack happened, a local source told Dailymail.com.
She had signed up to a private ocean tour and went snorkeling along Grace Bay Beach in Bone Yard dive site on Wednesday at 3pm when she was savaged by what is thought to be a Caribbean Reef Shark, the source said.
Shocking photos show the woman's left foot bitten clean off, still in her flipper. The captain of the boat is said to have dived in to rescue her before she was rushed to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre.
He then retrieved her foot from the water and put it on ice. However, it was too late to reattach after a six-hour wait for an emergency aircraft to fly the woman, who has not been publicly named, from hospital on the island to a hospital in Miami.
An American woman who was visiting Turks and Caicos was had her foot bitten off by a shark while she was snorkeling
The 22-year-old from Connecticut signed up to an ocean tour and went snorkeling along Grace Bay Beach in Bone Yard dive site on Wednesday at 3pm when she was attacked by a shark
She was celebrating her graduation from Yale University with her friend on the island, a local source told Dailymail.com
An employee described her as an 'impressive young woman' and said she had just run a marathon in the Netherlands last week.
'It was a super rare incident. I have been living here for 14 years and there has only been one other incident where there was a shark bite and nothing was ripped off,' he told Dailymail.com
'It's shocking what happened, I feel heartbroken for her.'
The woman and her friend were staying at a holiday home her parents owned when they took the private snorkeling trip.
The water was said to be calm and clear before she was attacked.
The captain of the vessel, trained in first aid, applied a tourniquet to her leg and prevented her from bleeding out.
An employee called the police around 3pm to request an ambulance and she was immediately rushed back to the dock where emergency services were waiting for her.
She was taken out of the ocean and put into an ambulance within 15 minutes of the attack, which potentially saved her life.
The captain then dived back in to the water and managed to find her foot, which was still in the flipper, and it was placed in a bucket of ice before time ran out to surgically reattach it.
The woman is in stable condition and was set to meet her parents at a hospital in Miami.
Her trip was run by Big Blue Collective, where private dive charters start from $1,795.
'The extremely rare and unfortunate incident that happened yesterday outside the reef, involving a snorkeler and a shark, occurred during a private trip,' a spokesman for the company said.
'Only two individuals were in the water, which was clear and calm, when a presumed Caribbean Reef Shark left one snorkeler with an injury due to what is known in diving circles as a case of mistaken identity.
'The calm, quick and measured response from one of our captains and office team meant that the victim was extracted from the ocean and dispatched in the ambulance in 15 minutes, saving them from a potentially life-threatening situation.
'We applaud all the efforts of our team, the paramedics, and the emergency first aid responders. Our thoughts are with the victim, their family and loved ones at this time.'
The woman was taken out of the ocean and put into an ambulance within 15 minutes of the attack, which potentially saved her life
She was snorkeling inside of the reef near Grace Bay Beach when she was bitten by the shark
And a spokesman from the Department of Environment & Coastal Resources for Turks and Caicos said: 'Yesterday, at the Bone Yard dive site in Princess Alexandra National Park, a 22-year-old female visitor from Connecticut was severely injured while snorkeling.
'Immediately after the incident, at approximately 3.07pm, a call was made to the Police Control Room.
'Responding swiftly, officers from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force ensured the injured visitor was quickly transported to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre to receive emergency care.
'The matter is still under investigation by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.
'Though incidents such as these are highly unusual in the Turks & Caicos Islands, swimmers, snorkelers and divers and boat operators are reminded to exercise caution on the water.'
There were many reports that the woman lost her leg after snorkeling in the waters near Blue Haven Resort, based on a police statement, but the details were wrong.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force later deleted their statement on Facebook.
Shark attacks are extremely rare and the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File recorded just 57 unprovoked bites worldwide last year, five of which were fatal.
Most shark attacks are said to be mistaken identity when sharks mistake humans for prey.
However, oceanic white-tips, dubbed 'the most dangerous of all sharks' by French naval officer Jacques Cousteau, can be aggressive towards humans. According to the Smithsonian, they have been noted as a danger toward those stranded at sea, and they are very powerful during feeding frenzies.
Tiger sharks are also among the most dangerous sharks for attacks on humans, with National Geographic claiming they are second only to great whites in attacking people.
Experts suggest people stay close to the shore and to swim with a friend in order to stay safe and not to wear shiny jewelry or clothing which can attract sharks.
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