Carmen Canovas Cervello: Diver attacked by 220lb nurse shark while snorkeling in Maldives
Warning: Graphic content, readers' discretion advised
VAAVU ATOLL, MALDIVES: Diver Carmen Canovas Cervello was attacked by a 220-lb nurse shark in Vaavu Atoll in the Maldives. Underwater photographer Ibrahim Shafeeg, well known as 'The Shark Guy', captured the attack on camera. Cervello, a 30-year-old nurse, received a bite to her back that measured 15 centimeters in diameter.
Shafeeg, 37, who used his GoPro camera to record the attack on his diving buddy at Drum World, said, "We decided to go on a freediving trip to Shark Bay and snorkel inside a group of sharks," according to Marco. The Shark Guy revealed that they swam with a shiver of 10 nurse sharks for about 45 minutes. He stated, "After the shark bite, we didn't think anything major, as it was only a minor injury, so we cleaned the wound and continued diving in the same spot again."
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'Take precautions while swimming with sharks'
Shafeeg posted the attack's footage to Instagram along with the message, "It is highly recommended that divers do not try to feed nurse sharks while swimming with them. Accident happens during freedive at shark point while feeding... Take precautions while swimming with sharks."
'I think the bug bit out of protective instinct'
Several viewers reacted to the video by sharing their views on it. One person wrote, "You could see that the shark wanted to defend itself, because she came very close, he must have thought she would be attacked, the intruder is her in their environment."
Another said, "Accident? Looks like the shark was setting some clear boundaries understandably that the free diver didn't respect." One wrote, "Felt attacked, she walked all over him. Only reacted, thankfully in mild form."
One person wrote, "It's a harmless species, (BTW the diver is only alive for this) it just bit her because she literally swims in the same. Total clueless if it was with another species like tiger,bobhead or others she probably would be dead. I'd ripped her whole scabies off..." Another said, "I think the bug bit out of protective instinct got spooked and bit."
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