Teen, 15, Loses Leg in Shark Attack During Belize Vacation
A 15-year-old American girl, Annabelle Carlson, lost her leg in a shark attack while vacationing in Belize this week, according to her family.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning, August 6, while Carlson was on a diving trip with her family and a tour group at the Lighthouse Reef near Half Moon Caye in the Gulf of Honduras, as reported by the Aspen Daily News.
Carlson, from Aspen, Colorado, had just finished her dive and jumped back into the water for a swim when the shark attacked, the outlet stated.
“Annabelle fought off the shark as best as she could but was critically injured,” a GoFundMe page set up for the family shared.
“Annabelle 1, Shark 0.”
Belize Dive Pro tour operators quickly rescued Carlson from the water and brought her to a nearby Coast Guard base, where officials stabilized her, according to Adm. Elton Bennett of the Belize Coast Guard.
Photos from the scene showed a group of people carrying Carlson to safety upon reaching land.
“It was her right leg that was bitten by the shark, resulting in the loss of her leg,” Bennett explained.
After initial stabilization at a hospital in Belize City, Carlson was airlifted to a trauma center in the United States, as mentioned on the GoFundMe page.
Channel 5 Belize reported that this shark attack is the first in recent memory in the country.
“We’re deeply saddened by this incident, but I want to stress that such occurrences are very rare. This shouldn’t deter anyone from swimming or enjoying our waters,” Belize’s Minister of the Blue Economy told the outlet.
Carlson, who is set to begin her sophomore year at Aspen High School, faces a long road to recovery, according to her family’s fundraiser page.
As of Friday afternoon, August 9, the GoFundMe campaign had raised over $98,800 of its $250,000 goal.
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