Over the weekend, a disturbing video emerged on social media showing the aftermath of a fatal shark attack in the town of Melaque, Mexico. The video captured the tragic scene of 26-year-old Maria Fernandez Martinez Jimenez, a former marine biology student at the University of Guadalajara, lying on the beach after being brought to shore by rescuers.
Witnesses off-camera in the video expressed shock, noting that Jimenez had lost her leg in the attack. According to Rafael Araiza, head of the local civil defense office, the incident occurred while Jimenez was in the ocean with her daughter, according to the Daily Mail.
Realizing the presence of a shark, she hurried to place her 5-year-old daughter onto a floating play platform about 75 feet from the shore. Tragically, the shark attacked Jimenez, biting her leg near the hip, as she was ensuring her daughter’s safety.
Despite prompt action by rescuers, Jimenez succumbed to the blood loss from her severe injury, as confirmed by Araiza. Her daughter was unharmed. The species of the shark involved in the attack has not been identified. The attack coincided with a swimming race taking place nearby.
Civil Protection officials in the municipality of Cihuatlan reported that their officers were supporting the swimming event when they received news of someone struggling in the sea. They found Jimenez lifeless with her leg amputated, presumably due to a shark attack, the New York Post reported.
Following this incident, authorities have temporarily closed the beaches in Melaque and the neighboring town of Barra de Navidad to swimmers as a safety measure. Shark attacks are relatively uncommon in Mexico. A notable incident in 2019 involved a U.S. diver who survived a shark bite on the forearm in Magdalena Bay, located off the coast of Baja California Sur.