Mortal Shark Encounter Claims Life in Hawaii

A man in Hawaii passed away on Saturday morning after suffering injuries from a shark incident off the coast of Maui. Police were called to a beach area in Paia and used a jet ski to bring the 39-year-old man to shore.

Bull Shark off the coast of Jupiter Florida.

Harry Collins Photography/Shutterstock

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After bringing the man ashore, first responders administered life-saving measures until medics arrived to take him to Maui Memorial Medical Center, as stated in the news release. Police later confirmed that the man succumbed to his injuries and announced that they would withhold his identity for 24 hours to give his family the chance to inform their loved ones.

The Division of Aquatic Resources, a part of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources, has observed a higher likelihood of shark bites in Hawaii from October through December. Despite this, shark attacks, including fatal ones, are rare, with an average of five deaths per year from unprovoked attacks. The International Shark Attack File states that the odds of being fatally attacked by a shark are less than 1 in 4 million, with experts attributing many bites to cases of mistaken identity in waters with low visibility.

According to records, the last fatal shark encounter in Hawaii occurred when a snorkeler was killed off Maui on December 8, 2022.

CNNs Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.