Alex Trelinski
RED flags were raised on part of Playa de Palma on Tuesday between Balneario 1 to 10 after an elderly Italian bather was bitten in the water.
Lifeguards went round telling people get out of the water with one of the team using a loudhailer to shout that bathing was prohibited due to a shark attack.
An expert from the Palma Aquarium Foundation doesn’t believe a blue shark was the culprit and the bathing ban was lifted at 1pm.
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Lifeguards in a motorboat went round the area to see if they could spot a shark, stingray, or any large marine animal that could have been the culprit.
They were unsuccessful and normal service was resumed.
The Palma Policia Local and lifeguards confirmed that an 85-year-old Italian woman had been bitten.
She exited the water at around 11.30am and was missing a portion of skin with bloody pouring out of her left calf.
A police spokesperson said: “A fish bit her, but no one saw it. There are no witnesses.”
She was taken by ambulance to a clinic.
No shark attacks have ever been confirmed in Mallorca and Tuesday’s incident does not appear to involve one.
Commenting on an image of the wound, Debora Morrison, director of the Palma Aquarium Foundation, said: “At first glance, it does not appear to have been caused by a shark”.
Click here to read more Mallorca News from The Olive Press.
