Mexico City, December 4: A Mexican woman died after she was severely bitten in the leg by a shark in the Pacific Ocean off the beach town of Melaque, authorities said Sunday. Rafael Araiza, the head of the local civil defence office, said the attack occurred Saturday a short distance from the beach in Melaque, just west of the seaport of Manzanillo.

The town is in the western state of Jalisco, and is located next to the better-known beach town of Barra de Navidad. Ariaza said the woman, 26, was swimming with her five-year-old daughter toward a floating play platform about 75 feet (25 meters) from the shore. Australia Shark Attack: Woman Suffers Nerve Damage and Skull Injuries After White Shark Clamps Jaw on Head, Leaves Teeth in Skull.

The victim was trying to boost her child aboard the floating platform when the shark bit her. The daughter was not harmed. Ariaza said that despite a quick response by rescuers, the woman died of blood loss from the massive bite wound on her leg near the hip. She was a resident of a nearby town. Australia Shark Attack: Woman Suffers Nerve Damage and Skull Injuries After White Shark Clamps Jaw on Head, Leaves Teeth in Skull.

Authorities closed the beaches in Melaque and Barra de Navidad to swimming as a precaution. Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2019, a U.S. diver survived a shark bite on the forearm in Magdalena Bay off the Baja California Sur coast.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)