A dozen children were having fun jumping from the quay on Friday in the Taiohae bay, the main village of the island, when a shark bit one of them on the arm and the leg.
A seven -year -old child was seriously bitten with the arm and leg by a shark in Nuku Hiva, an island in the Marquesas archipelago, in French Polynesia, the local TNTV channel reported on Saturday. Information confirmed to AFP by the firefighters of the island.
A dozen children were having fun jumping from the quay on Friday in the Taiohae bay, the main village of the island, when a shark bit one of them on the arm and the leg.
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“I am 35 years old and this is the first time I have seen that, they were long and deep injuries”told AFP a firefighter of Nuku Hiva who rescue the victim. “It is probably linked to fish carcasses that fishermen throw there: there are a lot of sharks, such as black spikes, hammers, and lemons”she added.
The child was transferred to the small island hospital, before being evacuated by plane to the French Polynesia hospital center, in Tahiti, 1500 km from Nuku Hiva.
Shark attacks are rare in French Polynesia. Bites mainly concern underwater fishermen or people who practice «shark feeding»a prohibited activity consisting in attracting sharks with food to observe them.