Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sharks

Surfer killed by shark off coast of France's Reunion island: officials

By Nicole Darrah Fox News
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for May 9 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for May 9

Fox News Flash top headlines for May 9 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com

A surfer was killed on Thursday after he was attacked by a shark off the coast of the French island of Reunion officials said.

The 28-year-old man was near Reunion in the Indian Ocean when the shark attacked, AFP reported. The man lost his leg and ultimately died.

FLORIDA'S 'SHARK BITE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD' SEES FIRST ATTACK OF 2019, OFFICIALS SAY

The surfer, according to local official Olivier Tainturier, "was accompanied by three friends who tried to take him back to land but did not manage."

Reunion has seen a sharp increase in shark-related deaths each year. The surfer's death on Thursday was reportedly the 24th shark attack on the island since 2011.

A 28-year-old surfer was killed on Thursday off the coast of Reunion island in France, officials said.

A 28-year-old surfer was killed on Thursday off the coast of Reunion island in France, officials said. (iStock)

REAL-LIFE 'JAWS': TERRIFYING GREAT WHITE SHARK IMAGE MIRRORS 1975 CLASSIC FILM

In 2018, one researcher at Florida International University, who studied changes dating back to the 1980s, described the increase of people and the increase of bull sharks as a "deadly equation."

The study found that in the months of June, July and August between 2010 and 2016, shark bites were most prevalent. Around 90 percent of the shark bites took place along a 31-mile stretch of the coast.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"This is totally related to the sharks' behavior, and sharks preferentially attacked isolated swimmers and surfers," Jeremy Kiszka, a marine biologist at the university, said. "At dusk and dawn — especially at dusk — they tend to forage closer to shore."

Reunion island officials warn swimmers and surfers online to use the "utmost vigilance" in the water because of possible shark attacks — particularly from bull sharks, which officials described as "potentially dangerous."