A swimmer bitten by a shark while snorkelling in the UK

New Delhi

In a rare incident, a woman swimmer has been bitten by a shark, while snorkelling at the Penzance harbour, off the coast of Cornwall in the UK last week.

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Reportedly, the woman swimmer, who has not been identified yet, was bitten on the leg by a shark and sustained injuries. Fortunately, she was quickly given first aid on the harbour while HM Coastguard escorted her via ambulance for offshore treatment.

âHM Coastguard sent Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team to meet a snorkeller who suffered a suspected shark bite." said the Coastguard in a statement before adding, "The coastguard was notified just before 12.30 pm on Thursday. It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury. The coastguard team met the casualty at Penzance harbour to assist with passing them into the care of the ambulance service.â

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It is believed that she might have to undergo minor plastic surgery to minimise the damage. Meanwhile, Blue Shark Snorkel Trips, the company that conducts the excursions released a statement on its Facebook page and said:

"These things can happen when we choose to interact with wild animals in their own environment. The last thing we want is to let speculation drive the media into a world of bad press for the sharks, under no fault of their own."

The company also shared a statement from the victim who iterated that reputation of sharks should not be tarnished by the incident, âI just wanted to say that despite how the trip ended, it was amazing to see such majestic creatures in the wild and I donât for a second want this freak event to tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species.

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It is important to note that despite pop culture movies propagating the notion that sharks are human devouring species, there hasn't been a single âunprovokedâ shark bite incident in British waters since 1847 when records began.

(With inputs from agencies)

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A swimmer bitten by a shark while snorkelling in the UK

<p>Despite pop culture movies propagating the notion that sharks are human devouring species, there hasn't been a single âunprovokedâ shark bite incident in British waters since 1847 when records began.</p>

Despite pop culture movies propagating the notion that sharks are human devouring species, there hasn't been a single âunprovokedâ shark bite incident in British waters since 1847 when records began.