An eight-year-old British boy has been attacked by sharks while on holiday in the Bahamas.
Finley Downer was surrounded by three nurse sharks while swimming in a lagoon last week, his family said, before he was pulled to safety after suffering bites on both legs.
Finley was then taken to a clinic in the capital, Nassau, where he underwent a three-hour operation, according to PA Media.
Finley’s father, Michael Downer, 44, told the Sun: “It was like a scene out of Jaws,” adding that his son could have been killed.
Michael had taken the family, including Finley and his sisters Lily, nine, and Emily, 12, on a five-island tour when the attack took place at Compass Cay. The family told the paper they joined a crowd of people swimming among nurse sharks in the lagoon.
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Describing the scene, his father recalled there was so much blood as his son said to him: “Dad, I don’t want to die.” The family has since returned home to Kettering, Northamptonshire, where Finley is recovering.
Tour guide operator Exuma Escapes told the Sun the family entered a lagoon not used on their tour, without a guide. They described nurse sharks as docile bottom-feeders, “unless handled incorrectly”.
Exuma Escapes has been approached for comment.
