US

A 22-year-old woman has had her leg bitten off by a shark while snorkelling in the Caribbean.

The woman, who is from Connecticut in the US but has not been named, was taken to hospital in a serious condition on the Turks and Caicos Islands, police said.

She and her friend were snorkelling outside the Blue Haven Resort near the Leeward Marina in Providenciales, one of the islands, when the attack happened just after 3pm on Wednesday.

Stephanie Mack, a spokeswoman for the resort, said in a statement: “Our understanding is that she was the guest of another resort and the client of a boat excursion company, neither of which we are affiliated with nor located near.”

Police have said an employee of a resort near Leeward Marina had called officers about the shark attack and requested an ambulance.

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The employee indicated the woman had her leg bitten off by a shark, police added.

The woman was still in hospital as of Thursday, but it didn’t appear her friend was seriously injured.

There is no indication of what kind of shark may have been involved.