A horrific moment was captured in a video where a shark jumped out of the water and tore a piece of a paraglider’s foot in Aqaba, southern Jordan. The video showed a 37-year-old Jordanian man hovering over the surface before the shark suddenly appeared and clenched his teeth into his legs.
He lost the back of his foot as well as several tendons and was left with torn muscles and broken bones after the horror attack.
Emergency services took him to Prince Hashem Military Hospital, in the port city, where he underwent surgery on his right leg. His condition is described as stable.
Mohammed Khalil Al Zabada of the College of Marine Sciences told local media that shark attacks in the Gulf of Aqaba are rare.
“Sharks are found in all the seas of the world, and in the Red Sea there are many types of sharks, but their presence in the Aqaba region is very rare,” he said.
Al Zabada points out that sharks do not usually approach the shore but are found in deep-sea areas.
Nayef Al Bakhit, head of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), announced that a committee has been formed to investigate circulating information about citizens being attacked by sharks in Aqaba.
“The committee will issue a detailed statement about what happened as soon as they complete the investigation,” Al Bakhit said.
On the news of the shark attack, Bakhit said that ASEZA was not notified and no sharks were seen in the Gulf of Aqaba on Sunday, a day after the man was attacked.
Sources: The Sun UK, Gulf News, Daily Mail