A BOY has been rushed to hospital after a brutal shark assault at a controversial aquarium on the world’s most densely populated synthetic island.
The 14-year-old is alleged to have come near shedding his hand after being bitten by the fish, regarded as a tiger shark.
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The boy, who has not been named, was visiting Santa Cruz del Islote off the coast of Colombia along with his household when the scare occurred.
The horrifying incident unfolded inside a do-it-yourself elongated pool of fish tanks, the place fee-paying vacationers leap in to swim and contact the captive creatures.
Critics have lengthy branded the unregulated attraction unlawful and demanded its closure.
Locals reportedly inform guests the sharks have had their enamel eliminated — however this stunning assault reveals that it’s not at all times the case.
The boy acquired emergency remedy on the island earlier than being transferred to a hospital on Colombia’s northern Caribbean coast.
Native media, which mentioned they’d obtained photographs of the assault and the “very critical” accidents, declined to publish them.
The pool, which might maintain as much as 14 sharks at a time, is a part of a guided tour that prices simply £2.
It ends with a swim among the many confined animals, the place guests are inspired to snap selfies and movies.
Animal rights activists have been warning in regards to the aquarium for years.
In Might 2021, outraged campaigner Alejandra Marin posted images of a household surrounding a nurse shark and wrote: “I need to denounce this case of animal mistreatment in Santa Cruz del Islote.
“Do one thing to free this shark. The situations it’s dwelling in are very precarious.”
A journey blogger who lately visited the island described the aquarium as “disheartening”.
They mentioned: “Whereas we had been to find out how locals dwell in such a spot, we clearly couldn’t assist the exploitation of animals for financial achieve. It was a disappointing finish to such a beautiful day.”
The assault comes amid rising considerations over shark encounters in Colombia.
In March 2022, Italian vacationer Antonio Straccialini, 56, died after a tiger shark tore a big chunk from his thigh whereas he swam at La Piscinita on San Andres island.
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And in July 2023, Colombian free diver Cristian Castano was bitten by a shark off the identical island, later posting a hospital picture with each forearms bandaged.
Santa Cruz del Islote, dwelling to round 800 individuals on only one hectare of land, welcomes round 500 vacationers a day.
The person-made island is claimed to be probably the most densely populated island on the earth and probably the most overcrowded locations on Earth.
It sits on the Archipelago of San Bernardo, a protected coral paradise, and was constructed on a coral platform by the pioneer households.
With an space simply surpassing one hectare, tons of of islanders dwell in 97 properties with ridged tin roofs crammed subsequent to one another.
There are ten neighbourhoods and 4 most important streets, however no vehicles or bikes can trip alongside them.
And as distances between locations are so brief, individuals both stroll or take boats to get round.
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