A 76-year-old Belgian tourist died and another was injured on Thursday after being attacked by an animal while swimming in the city of Zihuatanejo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero, more precisely at Playa Quieta, in the hotel zone of Ixtapa. Local authorities have not yet determined whether it was a shark or a crocodile, although both versions circulate.
According to the report of the Emergency Response Center of the Secretariat of Integral Risk Management and Civil Protection in the Costa Grande region, the most serious of the cases was registered minutes after 9 a.m. local time in the beach area of the Club Med hotel.
"A male amputee of a leg due to a shark bite is being treated and given first aid," the report on the incident reads.
Despite medical attention, the man, originally from Canada, died due to the extent of the injuries to one of his legs. He was identified as Joseph Bynens, 76, of Belgium.
A woman was also injured. She is Valerie Haurowitz, from California, United States.
The municipal president, Jorge Sanchez Alec, reported that several marine biologists agreed that it was most likely a crocodile attack.
However, he clarified that a bacteriological analysis is being carried out to determine precisely which animal it was. The results would be available by this Friday.
After the attack, an operation was deployed with Civil Protection workers and the Secretary of the Navy to locate and capture the animal responsible.
"The Secretariat of Civil Protection reinforced the surveillance of lifeguard personnel in beach areas and intensified safety protocols, such as the placement of purple banners, which signifies the presence of dangerous marine fauna," the authorities reported.
Crocodiles, a problem on the beaches of Zihuatanejo
Near Quieta beach, in the Mexican Pacific, which has been presented as inclusive for people with disabilities, there is a crocodile reserve that, according to the mayor, has been reinforced in terms of security.
Recently, the presence of a crocodile alerted tourists on El Palma beach in Ixtapa, but it didn't get any worse.
In previous years, specimens have also been observed on La Ropa beach in Zihuatanejo, where there is also a smaller estuary.
Meanwhile, shark attacks have also been recorded on beaches in Costa Grande: in 2019, a U.S. tourist was the victim of an attack in Troncones, a municipality of La Unión, adjacent to Zihuatanejo.
Previously, in 2008, there was a series of attacks between La Unión and Ixtapa that left two dead, a tourist and a local, as well as one injured and one missing.
This area of the Costa Grande de Guerrero is the one with the highest attraction of foreign tourists in the cold season, where they take refuge for its warmth.
With information from EFE.