Moment shark leaps out of the water and tears a chunk out of paraglider’s foot in the Red Sea
- A Jordanian man was parasailing in the Red Sea when he was attacked by a shark
- The man had several tendons in his foot severed as well as a badly torn muscle
- The shark also bit off a section of the man’s foot after leaping up from the sea
- The victim was rushed to the Prince Hashem Military Hospital for treatment
This is the shocking moment a shark leapt out of the water and bit off part of a man’s foot as he parasailed in the Red Sea.
The footage which was shot on Friday, shows the tandem parasailer, a 37-year-old Jordanian man, hovering above the water in Aqaba when the shark suddenly emerges and bites him on the leg.
The man lost part of the back of his foot in the attack which also severed tendons, tore muscles and broke several bones.
He was taken to the Prince Hashem Military Hospital, in the port city, where he had an operation on his right foot. His condition was described as stable.
This is the shocking moment a man parasailing off the coast of Jordan was bitten by a shark
The 37-year-old man lost part of his foot and had several tendons severed when the shark lunged out of the sea and bit him near the port city of Aqaba on Friday
Mohammad Qatawneh from the Aqaba International Dive Centre told local media that although shocking, attacks by sharks in the Gulf of Aqaba are rare.
He told Jordan News: ‘The shark attack garnered a lot of media attention. Truthfully, it scared a lot of people, but this is something that can take place anywhere.
‘In Karak, for example, there are snakes and scorpions, but in the end, they’re not dangerous enough to scare people away.
‘I’ve been diving for 20 years and this is the first time I’ve heard of a shark attack.’
Mohammed Khalil Al Zabada of the College of Marine Sciences told Gulf News: ‘Sharks are found in all the seas of the world, and in the Red Sea there are many types of sharks, but their presence in the Aqaba region is very rare.’
He said sharks are not normally found in shallow water off the Jordanian coast.
Nayef Al Bakhit of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority said an investigation into the incident has been launched.
He added: ‘The committee will issue a detailed statement about what happened as soon as they complete the investigation.’