DEPUTY Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Chester Cooper.
THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: The 10-year old Maryland boy bitten by a shark while in a tank at Atlantis earlier this week is being treated at Doctors Hospital and will be airlifted to the United States for further care. The hospital confirmed in a statement that the boy successfully underwent surgery and is recovering well.
"Doctors Hospital Health System (DHHS) is aware of news reports surrounding the recent shark attack on a 10 year old boy. This patient is under the care of Doctors Hospital. He successfully underwent surgery, is recovering well and will be airlifted to the United States for further care," the statement read.
By Denise Maycock
Tribune Freeport Reporter
dmaycock@tribunemedia.net
TWO Americans who witnessed a shark attack at Atlantis on Monday said their experience was peaceful but turned dark when the ten-year-old victim was attacked.
“We saw the sharks hone in on him and then just like a pool of blood afterwards,” Tori Massie told NBC News, while her partner, Michael Massie, said: “They failed this child and this family.”
Police had said the ten-year-old Maryland boy was participating in an expedition in a “shark tank at a local resort on Paradise Island” when the incident happened.
Tourism Minister Chester Cooper yesterday called the attack “another unfortunate incident,” adding he had little information about what happened.
Last night, ABC World News Tonight reported that the boy was bitten on his right leg, required surgery and was listed in serious but stable condition; the boy was expected to be airlifted to Maryland last night.
Mr Cooper told reporters Atlantis would "issue a statement in due course,” but resort officials did not respond to The Tribune’s questions on Tuesday and Wednesday and continued to be mum yesterday.
NBC News reported that after the attack, the programme the child participated in, “Walking with the Sharks,” was removed from Atlantis’ website. The news outlet also said it did not hear back from Blue Adventures by Stuart Cove, the company that runs the shark experience.
Last month, a shark killed a 44-year-old American woman in waters near the Sandals resort.
Mr Cooper said a Cabinet subcommittee led by Environment Minister Vaughn Miller is examining water activities.
“There is going to be public consultation, and we will consider lessons learnt from all these shark attacks during this period of consultation and potentially reflect some changes in the regulation,” he said, adding that the subcommittee was established late last year.
Comments
bahamianson 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Yeah, come to the Bahamas, here , you can ingest sharp knives . The cost is $200 per hour. Swallow at your own risk.We do not need regulation, we need to stop shark tanks and shark diving, period.
Sickened 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm pretty sure the sharks aren't going to read whatever rules you come up with. And if humans don't want to risk getting bitten then they should stay out of the water and out of shark tanks. It's like going on Safari in Africa looking for lions and then complaining when a lion rushes the jeep and bites your arm off. THINK PEOPLE!!! Accept the risks of what you do.
realfreethinker 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Sharks are not pets. They are predators. I really don't know what else they expect to happen
Sickened 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Right! Did the parents think that the sharks were de-toothed or that the dive staff would put an invisible shield around each tourist? Or did they think that these particular sharks received strict instructions not to bite humans? I could see Stuart cove being at fault if one of the divers intentionally dove down and but the young boys calf, causing it to bleed. Other than that... suck it up, really traumatizing shit happens, especially when you throw your kid in a friggin shark tank!
TalRussell 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Businesses often create waivers for the parent of a minor child to have signed a Liability Waiver. --- Businesses will also post warning signs --- “You are responsible for your own injuries, we are not liable" --- Yes?
DWW 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I could be wrong but I could almost guarantee you that was a spoiled brat 10 year old who probably provoked the otherwise peaceful nurse shark. any takers on betting odds that the brat decided to poke the eye or grab the tail of the shark? We can never properly engineer for stupid which is one of the reasons the Mars trip is doomed to failure unless everyone is put to sleep for the entire time.
DillyTree 10 months, 2 weeks ago
When are we, as a country, going to wake up and stop catering to the every whim of visitors?
Just because they want to cuddle with sharks, swim with 400-pound pigs, and be kissed by dolphins, does that mean we offer it to them? What's next? Swim across Nassau Harbour tours?
The government needs to step in and regulate the wild animal interactions -- they are just that, wild animals that don't read the liability waivers tourists sign and behave unpredictably. Stop the feeding of fish, turtles, etc. just to have them show the tourists. Most of these cute fish and turtles are favourite food for sharks and toher predators.
The government should listen to the experts and the scientists who can best advise -- or at least the ones the government hasn't driven out of the country by not reissuing research permits for.
Oh, and while the Mr. Cooper is talking about regulating things, how about dealing with the the jet ski operators?
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