British tourist, 64, in hospital after shark attack in Tobago

A British tourist is in intensive care on the Caribbean island of Tobago after being seriously injured in a shark attack.

The man, identified by local officials as a 64-year-old Peter Smit, from Hertfordshire, was attacked 10 metres off the shore near the Starfish Hotel in Courland Bay, on the north coast.

He sustained injuries to his left hand, left thigh, and stomach following the attack on Friday morning, which involved a bull shark estimated to be eight to 10 ft long and 2 ft wide, the Tobago House of Assembly said.

A 10,000 US dollar (£1,179) bounty previously offered by authorities to anyone who could capture the shark was later retracted.

Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said in a Facebook press briefing on Friday evening that the man had been holidaying on the island with his wife and friends and had been due to fly home that day.

A $10,000 bounty issued by authorities in Tobago has since been recalled. / Credit: Tha.Gov.TT

Mr Augustine said the man was stable and “doing well”, but remained in an intensive care unit and kept under sedation at Scarborough General Hospital.

He went on: “Some reattachments were done, of fingers for example, and hopefully that will save those fingers.

“We know that there’s significant wounds on one of his legs that cannot be completely closed, but he will require extensive work.

“The task at this time for our health professionals is really to stabilise and ensure that we can save life and limb as much as possible.”

Mr Augustine added that the local government was working closely with the British High Commission. Several beaches and coastal areas were closed as a precaution.

Last year, there were 69 unprovoked attacks and 22 provoked bites worldwide, along with 14 fatalities, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.