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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Adam Cailler & Anita McSorley

Horror shark attack 200km off Irish coast leaves swimmer with grim leg injuries

A swimmer has been bitten by a shark around 200km from the Irish coast.

It happened in the water near Penzance Harbour in Cornwall, south west England last Thursday.

The snorkeler sustained a grim leg injury during the attack, Daily Star reports.

READ MORE: Largest ever shark spotted off the Irish coast measuring 9ft long and weighing 500lbs

The local Coastguard has confirmed that the injury is believed to have been caused by a suspected shark bite.

A spokesperson said: "HM Coastguard sent Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team to meet a snorkeler who suffered a suspected shark bite.

"The coastguard was notified just before 12.30pm on Thursday, July 28. It is believed the swimmer suffered a leg injury.

"The coastguard team met the casualty at Penzance Harbour to assist with passing them into the care of the ambulance service."

It is unclear exactly what breed of shark it was, however shark sightings are quite common in Cornish waters.

According to Google Maps, Penzance Harbour is around 200km away from the coast of Cork.

The Daily Star has reached out to Coastguard and the Penzance Coastguard Rescue Team in Penzance for an update on the situation.

According to the experts at British Sea Fishing, the most common breeds in their waters are blue sharks, porbeagle and basking sharks.

They said: "Blue shark attacks on humans are extremely rare but have been recorded. In total, on a world-wide basis, there are four confirmed cases of fatal blue shark attacks on humans with twenty-five confirmed non-fatal attacks.

"In August 2012 a beach in Ceredigion, Wales was closed to bathers due to the presence of a blue shark.

"The shark was spotted swimming in between boats and came very close to the shore, swimming past tourists in just a few feet of water."

According to the Marine Institute, 35 species of sharks have been recorded in Irish waters, including the blue shark, porbeagle shark, lesser spotted dogfish and the second-largest shark in the world, the basking shark.

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