CNN
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An Australian vacationer has died after being attacked by a shark in waters off New Caledonia within the South Pacific, in accordance with public broadcaster New Caledonia 1 TV.
The 59-year-old man was swimming close to a pontoon at Château-Royal seashore within the capital Nouméa when a shark attacked him round 4 p.m. native time on Sunday, New Caledonia 1 reported.
Two individuals rescued the person on a jet-ski and CPR was carried out, however he didn’t survive his accidents, in accordance with the broadcaster.
In response, authorities closed seashores in Nouméa, a preferred vacation spot for worldwide vacationers within the French abroad territory.
“Swimming and nautical actions are closed in a 300-meter coastal band till additional discover,” Nouméa Metropolis Council stated in an announcement. A shark culling was additionally activated following the assault, New Caledonia 1 added.
This was the second assault in lower than a month in the identical location. In late January, a 49-year-old girl suffered a number of accidents after being attacked by a bull shark whereas swimming at Château-Royal seashore, in accordance with the International Shark Assault File.
Close by seashores had been closed after that assault and solely reopened final Thursday, in accordance with native media stories.
The variety of worldwide guests to Nouméa, recognized for its clear blue water and idyllic seashores, dropped sharply in the course of the pandemic, in accordance with World Financial institution knowledge, however the trade is slowly recovering.
New Caledonia’s tourism web site warns guests to be cautious of sharks and to solely swim in monitored areas, the place authorities perform patrols and monitor shark alerts.
The archipelago is ranked thirteenth on Florida Museum’s listing of unprovoked shark assaults, with 19 assaults since 1580, nevertheless it trails properly behind the US, with greater than 1,600 throughout the identical interval. The US is adopted by Australia, South Africa and Brazil.
The latest deadly assault in New Caledonia was in February 2021, when a tiger shark is believed to have attacked a yachtsman in Maître islet, in accordance with native information stories.
The French territory sits to the east of Australia’s coast, north of New Zealand, and most vacationers go to from September to November.