A shark killed a 40-year-old man in northern New Caledonia on Thursday, the public prosecutor announced.
The man, originally from the island of Maré, in the east of the French overseas territory in the Pacific, was with his family on the Kendek islet where he was practicing underwater fishing, according to a press release issued Friday.
Seriously injured in the arm by a shark and unconscious, the forty-year-old was transported by his relatives to the neighboring town of Koumac, on Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia, before being taken care of by firefighters and volunteer rescuers.
As the emergency department of Koumac hospital has been closed since January 1, due to a lack of medical staff, a team of emergency doctors was dispatched from Nouméa. The emergency doctor pronounced him dead at 6:40 p.m., despite attempts at resuscitation.
The public prosecutor has opened an investigation to determine the causes of death and try to identify the species of shark involved.
In June 2024, a shark attack took place in Poindimié, in the northeast of Grande Terre. According to information provided by the public prosecutor, a man, who was then practicing kitesurfing, had drowned before his body was attacked by several sharks.
