A snorkeller was the recent victim of a suspected shark attack off the coast of Cornwall in the UK.
In what was described as a “very scary incident”, the swimmer suffered a bite to the leg and needed help from HM Coastguard and ambulance crews following the encounter, which took place near Penzance on Thursday.
The snorkeller was reportedly bitten by a blue shark.
“HM Coastguard sent Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team to meet a snorkeller who suffered a suspected shark bite,” said HM Coastguard said in a statement following the incident.
“The coastguard was notified just before 12.30pm on Thursday. It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury.”
Blue Shark Snorkel Trips, the company that organised the tour, said such incidents were “extremely rare” and that they were “in continued talks with shark experts” as to what happened.
“As we know, these things can happen when we choose to interact with wild animals in their own environment,” the company said in a statement on its Facebook page.
“The last thing we want is to let speculation drive the media into a world of bad press for the sharks, under no fault of their own.”
The company said that, following the incident, it immediately enacted its emergency response plan, with first aid being carried out on the person involved.
“Following advice and assessment from the coastguard, the person walked off the boat and received further treatment ashore,” it added.
The victim said in a statement released by the firm that, “despite how the trip ended, it was amazing to see such majestic creatures in the wild and I don’t for a second want this freak event to tarnish the reputation of an already persecuted species”.
“Wanted to thank everyone for their amazing actions. What was a very scary incident was made so much easier by the kindness and calmness of the people around me,” the victim said.
Blue sharks visit the UK during the summer months from the Caribbean and mainly feed on small fish and squid, though they have been known to attack seabirds and other small sharks, the Wildlife Trusts said.
UK-based charity the Shark Trust says there have been no “unprovoked” bites in British waters since 1847, when records began.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
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Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
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Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Real Madrid 1
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Athletic Bilbao 1
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Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
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It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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2005-2006: Cobreloa
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