Spain opens investigation after death of tourist in UK boat off Canary Islands

A German woman was travelling on a UK-flagged catamaran when the incident happened, according to Spain’s rescue service, who spoke out over the tragedy.

A Spanish court has opened an investigation into a fatal shark attack off the Canary Islands. A German woman was travelling on a UK-flagged catamaran when the incident happened, according to Spain’s rescue service, who spoke out over the tragedy.

The womandied after being attacked by a shark while sailing 270 nautical miles (500km) off the Canary Islands on Tuesday. Salvamento Marítimo, the 30-year-old woman was travelling on the British-flagged catamaran Dalliance Chichester.

They were travelling about 110 miles west of the Western Saharan city of Dakhla when the attack happened just before 4pm local time. The boat’s crew made an emergency call to the Spanish rescue service but she sadly died.

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The woman, who had lost a leg in the attack, suffered cardiorespiratory failure on the helicopter flight and was pronounced dead at the Doctor Negrín hospital in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. A spokesperson for the Canaries’ courts service confirmed that a court in Las Palmas had begun an investigation into the incident, “as it does in the case of any accidental death”.

Spanish outlet Atlantico Hoy reported Spain's emergency services had contacted their Moroccan counterparts, which said they did not have suitable rescue equipment in the area. According to boat-tracking website vesselfinder.com, the boat, the Dalliance Chichester, left the port of Las Palmas on September 14.

Shark attacks are extremely rare in the area, Atlantico Hoy reported, saying only six such attacks have been recorded in the area since records began in the 16th century. The woman was sailing in a catamaran some 278 nautical miles (more than 500 kilometers) southwest of the island of Gran Canaria when the shark struck.

The 30-year-old, who has not been named, was rushed to hospital by a Spanish Air Force helicopter after the attack, the Guardian newspaper has today reported.