The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG


Tribune Staff Reporter


ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AN American tourist celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary was bitten by a shark during a snorkelling excursion in Bimini after tour operators assured participants the animals would keep their distance.

John Schweizer suffered injuries to his shin and hand during the final day of a family vacation and required 30 stitches before being transferred from his cruise ship to a hospital in Miami.

American news station Gulf Coast NBC reported that Mr Schweizer and his wife were marking their anniversary with a family trip when they joined the excursion.

He said participants could see large sharks in the water but were told the animals would move deeper once swimmers entered.

“You could see the sharks,” Mr Schweizer said. “They were big, and they said, ‘Don’t worry, the sharks, once you jump in like a cannonball, some big noise, they go deeper, they won’t bother you.’”

Mr Schweizer said he was instead struck suddenly and immediately realised he had been bitten.

“I got hit pretty hard, you know, either pulled me down or pushed me up. My wife yelled at me to quit fooling around. I knew it was a shark. If you ever got bitten by a large dog, you would know it’s very, it hits you hard and quick,” he said.

He was taken back to the cruise ship, where an emergency room doctor treated him for three hours.

Mr Schweizer received 26 stitches to his shin and another four to his hand before being transferred to a Miami hospital for further treatment.

He was later discharged and returned home, where neighbours dressed as sharks in an effort to lift his spirits.

“It’s a good story. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world that’s not great. It’s a feel-good story, and I’m happy to be part of it,” he said.

Mr Schweizer said the attack had changed at least one aspect of his future travel plans.

“I’m not going to swim with sharks anymore,” he said.

The incident follows a shark attack in late June involving 12-year-old Parker Roll of Texas, who was bitten while swimming off Staniel Cay, Exuma, during a family trip.

Parker told Good Morning America he was “lucky to be alive” after a shark clamped onto him while he and his brother, Jack, were in the water during a tour of the Exuma Cays.