Shark kills surfer in Mexico

2008-05-24 09:16

Acapulco - A surfer was killed by a shark off Mexico's Pacific coast, a mere 10km from a beach where an American man died in a similar attack last month, authorities said.

Osvaldo Mata Valdovinos, 21, was attacked on Friday while surfing off Pantla beach west of Acapulco, said local Civil Protection Director Jaime Vazquez Sobreira. The shark bit off his left hand and broke one of his legs, Vazquez Sobreira said.

Another young man, Jorge Duque Valle, said he witnessed the attack.

"He raised his hand and screamed, and that was when his hand and leg were bitten," Duque Valle said. "Osvaldo went under. He was under water for a while and then he emerged bleeding."

The attack came less than a month after 24-year-old Adrian Ruiz of San Francisco died after being bitten by a shark while surfing off Troncones beach. Mexican authorities used baited hooks to catch sharks in the area the next day.

Environmentalists opposed the hunt and had demanded that authorities post signs in the area's beaches warning about sharks.

- AP