On the beach in Thailand: Shark attacks German tourist

Khao Lak (Thailand) - Horror on a dream beach. A German tourist was attacked by a shark while on vacation in Thailand . The woman was seriously injured.

Nobody could have guessed what danger was lurking in the shallows.

Dramatic scenes were reported from Thailand. As the portal"MGR" reports, a serious incident occurred on Friday on the beach of Khao Lak, around 110 kilometers north of Phuket. A 57-year-old tourist from Germany was attacked and seriously injured by a shark while swimming.

According to what is known, the German woman was bathing with five companions in chest-high water, almost 1.50 meters deep. The predator approached unnoticed, suddenly snapped and tore the 57-year-old's right leg apart.

Lifeguard Atiti Pinyo (29) witnessed the incident. When he saw how shocked tourists started screaming, he initially thought that someone was drowning, he told the portal "77Khaoded". He immediately ran to the water, saw the woman covered in blood and immediately administered first aid.

The 57-year-old was very lucky: the shark apparently "only" went in for a test bite. After the attack, it let go of the woman. Nevertheless, the attack left a huge gaping flesh wound on her calf - 30 centimetres long and 15 centimetres wide. The woman was flown to Vachira Hospital in Phuket, where she is recovering from the ordeal.

While the Thai authorities initially said that an "unknown predatory fish" had mauled the woman so badly, a day later it was clear that the attacker was a bull shark - a particularly aggressive species of shark that is widespread in the seas of the southern hemisphere and hunts near coasts and estuaries.

Hardly any other shark is responsible for more fatal incidents.

The beach at Khao Lak is now closed to swimmers. Warning signs indicate the threat.