Bahamas shark attack: British boy, 8, attacked while on holiday with family after swimming in island lagoon
Finley Downer was swimming in a lagoon in Compass Bay when he was attacked by the sharks and bitten on both legs
A young boy has been attacked by a shark while on holiday in the Bahamas.
Eight-year-old Finley Downer, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, was in the Caribbean country with his family when he was bitten by the shark in Compass Bay.
The young boy was transferred to hospital following the incident, with his father, Michael Downer, describing it as a “scene out of Jaws”.
‘There was so much blood’
Mr Downer had taken his three children - Finley, 8, Lily, 9, and Emily, 12 - on a luxury holiday to the Caribbean on the week beginning 1 August.
The family had been part way through a five-island tour when Finley went swimming in a lagoon at Compass Bay alongside his siblings and a large crowd of tourists.
However, also swimming in the lagoon was nurse sharks, with the crowd unaware that the creatures were being fed by scrapped being thrown into the water.
Three of the creatures targeted the eight-year-old boy while he was swimming, leaving him with severe injuries to both of his legs. He was pulled out of the water by his sister Lily.
Mr Downer said: “[I] heard a terrified scream and saw dozens (of sharks) circling Finley.
“There was so much blood. Bits of his leg were hanging off.
“He kept saying, ‘Dad I don’t want to die. Dad, I don’t want to go to heaven’.”
Finley was tranferred to hospital on a golf buggy, where he underwent a three-hour operation to save his limbs. Mr Downer was forced to pay £2,000 for a flight to meet his son at the hopsital in capital city, Nassau.
Family claims tour guides said lagoon was safe
Speaking to The Sun, Mr Downer said that the family had been told by tour guides that the sharks in the water were safe.
Operator Exuma Escapes claimed in a statement to the newspaper that the family went unguided into a lagoon which it does not use on its tour, adding that nurse sharks are docile bottom-feeders unless they are handled incorrectly.
A nurse shark can weight around 200-330 pounds each, and, at full size, can reach 7.5-9.5ft in length. The creatures also have very strong jaws with thousands of tiny teeth.
The sharks are known to bite in defense if stepped on or irritated by divers.
The Downer family have since returned to their home in Kettering, whith Finley recovering from his injuries.
He is currently wheelchair-bound while he recovers, and is likely to have lasting scars on his legs.