FATAL – 24 February 2008 – Bahamas (update from Florida attack report) – diver attacked

New reports clarify the report of a diver who was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital on Sunday 24 February 2008, after being bitten by a shark. The updated reports say he was bitten on the leg while diving off the Bahamas and died of his wounds.

Markus Groh, 49, an Austrian lawyer on vacation, was doing an open water shark diving trip organised by Scuba Adventures off the Bahamas in the Caribbean. He was reportedly bitten on the leg during the dive. He was airlifted from the diving boat Shearwater to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida where he was pronounced dead on Monday 25 February.

There was not report detailing the extent of his injuries.

It was unclear what type of shark was involved in the attack.

The Deeper Blue website reports that the Shearwater was owned and operated by Jim Abernethy a pioneer of open water diving with sharks with more than 35 years of experience diving with sharks. This was apparently the “first reported fatality resulting from an incident between a shark and a scuba diver during a commercially organised shark diving expedition”.

Sources:
Deeper Blue
Associated Press