TCIG not calling Woman’s injury a ‘Shark Attack’

By Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, May 25, 2023 – Where and How?  Those are the questions now arising from Wednesday’s marine incident which left a young woman without her foot. The police and one local business say it was a shark attack, another government agency, the DECR was much more vague.

In a press release around midday Thursday, the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources said, “A 22-year-old female visitor from Connecticut was severely injured while snorkeling… The matter is still under investigation by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.”

Missing from that press release any mention of or warning to be careful of sharks.

Big Blue Collective on the other hand in a statement to Magnetic Media that same day said this:

“Only two individuals were in the water, which was clear and calm, when a presumed Caribbean Reef Shark left one snorkeler with an injury due to what is known in diving circles as a case of mistaken identity,” they continued, “The calm, quick and measured response from one of our captains and office team meant that the victim was extracted from the ocean and dispatched in the ambulance in 15 minutes, saving them from a potentially life-threatening situation.”

The communications team at Big Blue Collective stressed to us that this was not to be used to characterize the TCIs waters. Both DECR and Big Blue reminded the public that these incidents are very rare.

The DECR said the incident happened in an area known as the Bone Yard Dive Site, part of the Princess National Park; a protected marine environment.

Photos of the victim’s injury show that her foot, severed completely at the ankle, was thankfully recovered whole.

The Police report had inaccuracies and was retracted last night. However, not before news media locally and abroad reported the facts as laid out by them.

The TCI Hospitals’ statement said, “The patient received immediate medical attention by our Emergency Response trauma team. The patient’s injury is considered serious and, after a period of stabilization, was transferred to a tertiary care facility for further management on that evening, Wednesday, May 24th 2023…”

Sources told our news team the nature of the injury requires a multi-agency investigation to sort out what exactly occurred in the water.