French honeymooner killed in shark attack in Reunion

Updated
French honeymooner killed in shark attack in Reunion
French honeymooner killed in shark attack in Reunion

A French tourist has been attacked and killed by a shark while surfing on his honeymoon in the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.

The 36-year-old was in the sea off the popular beach of Brisants de Saint-Gilles on the western coast of the French-controlled island while his new wife was sunbathing just 50 metres away.

The alarm was raised when another swimmer saw blood in the water and the sea turn red.

According to the Daily Telegraph, lifeguards managed to retrieve the victim from the water, and tried, but failed, to revive him on the beach.

He had been bitten on the arm and the thigh, suffered massive blood loss, and was in cardiac and respiratory arrest, reports AFP.

According to the Daily Mail, three people have been killed by sharks on Reunion in the last two years, but this was the first attack of 2013.

A spokesman for the Island's tourist office told the Mirror: "The victim's wife was sunbathing on the beach and was aware of the attack soon after it happened.

"She's being treated for severe shock. The surfer suffered bites to the right arm and hand, and the right thigh.

"The beach has now been closed for swimming as everything is done to find the shark. It's still open for sunbathing, however."

Reunion is an overseas department of France, and is a volcanic island east of Madagascar, located about 120 miles south west of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

The case echoes that of British holidaymaker Ian Redmond who was killed by a shark during his honeymoon on the island of Praslin in the Seychelles last August.

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