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Deadly shark attack off Maine coast under investigation

In this Monday, Jan. 21, 2019 photo, a 6 foot (1.8 meter) sandbar shark is caught by researchers from the predator project at the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station established by the University of Haifa in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the northern Israeli city of Hadera. A nearby giant power plant may not look like the most natural habitat for sea life. But the hot water gushing from the plant is drawing schools of sharks that are increasingly endangered by overfishing. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

A swimmer died following an apparent shark attack near Bailey Island, Maine, on Monday, the Maine Department of Natural Resources confirmed.

The agency said that kayakers brought the unidentified woman to shore after swimmers saw she was injured from an apparent shark attack. She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS responders.

Swimmers and boaters in the area were being told to remain cautious following the attack.

The University of Florida, which has a database of shark attacks in the United States, has not reported any such attacks from 2010 through 2019 off the coast of Maine. On average, there are 45 shark attacks in the United States a year. But fatal shark attacks are very rare in the US – just seven reported fatalities in the last decade, and three in the last four years.

According to the University of Florida, there was a fatal shark attack off the coast of California in May, marking the first US shark attack death in nearly two years.

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