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Shark Attacks in Pernambuco Leave 11-Year-Old and 19-Year-Old With Amputated Legs

Officials say warning signs and limited bathing bans remain in place during hospital treatment of the two mauling victims as authorities verify details.

Overview

  • An 11-year-old boy identified locally as Joao Lucas was attacked at Piedade Beach on Sunday and was flown to Recife for emergency surgery that resulted in amputation of his left leg.
  • A separate attack at Boa Viagem on Monday left 19-year-old Marcela Vitoria de Lima Santos with a leg amputated after on-site first aid and emergency surgery at the same Recife hospital.
  • Lifeguards, an off-duty doctor, bystanders and Mobile Emergency Care Services paramedics provided first aid and rapid evacuation to the Aeronautics Hospital and then to Hospital da Restauracao.
  • The State Committee for Monitoring Shark Incidents (CEMIT) says the beaches involved display warning signs and that a bathing ban covers parts of Jaboatao even as people continue to enter the water.
  • Pernambuco has a long record of shark incidents with varying historical totals reported and unconfirmed species identifications, a pattern that raises public-safety and tourism concerns and has prompted local blood-donation appeals.