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Family Of 21-Year-Old Student Killed By Sharks Speaks Out

Lisa McLoughlin

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Family Of 21-Year-Old Student Killed By Sharks Speaks Out

Featured Image Credit: Good Morning America

The father of a 21-year-old woman who was killed by sharks while snorkelling in the Bahamas has spoken for the first time on TV about her tragic death.

Californian native Jordan Lindsey was attacked and killed by a group of sharks while on a day-trip with her family and girlfriend to Rose Island on 26th June.

Appearing on Good Morning America, her father Michael explained that Jordan and her mother Kami had split from the rest of the tour group to go snorkelling, while he and the others stayed behind to interact with the pigs, which the Island is known for.

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And it was during that time that Michael overheard from a fellow tour goer that a "teenager" had been attacked by sharks and his stomach sank.

The heartbroken parent said that his wife Kami tried to swim towards Jordan after realising she was surrounded by sharks.

He told the US broadcaster: "Kami said she heard Jordan yell, 'mom', and then Kami looked back and her first thing was she thought dolphins were around Jordan."

"She's yelling, 'Jordan, come to swim to me', and then Jordan isn't swimming so good and Kami realised the first shark took most of her right arm off."

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Credit: GoFundMe
Credit: GoFundMe

Michael explained that there were no guides or staff members from the tour company nearby to help them in the frenzied attack. At one point, Kami tried to fight a second shark off her daughter by punching it in the nose.

Describing the horrific situation, he added: "They're swimming slowly and Jordan said, 'mom, there's another shark coming,' and then it just hit.

"The second shark hit again, like on her lower leg, and it just took a giant chunk out of her and that's the last thing Jordan saw."

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After pulling Jordan ashore and placing her on some rocks, Kami waited for a boat to bring them to a hospital. Sadly, the boat didn't have any medical supplies.

They were visiting an island known for their wild pigs. Credit: Unsplash
They were visiting an island known for their wild pigs. Credit: Unsplash

Jordan was still alive when she was placed into a waiting ambulance, which rushed her to hospital. However, Michael said by the time he had arrived to the hospital his daughter had passed away.

Speaking about the impact of Jordan's tragic death, Michael shared: "Kami doesn't like the nights because once she closes her eyes, she's back in that water again."

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Michael, who appeared alongside Jordan's girlfriend Gianna Gabriele-Kasparek on the American morning stalwart, added that changes need to be made to "ensure a tragedy like this does not happen again".

Michael said that he wants tour operators to have a designated member of staff to look out for potential predators, have clear structures in place in case of emergency as well as medical supplies on board.

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The tour operators, Sandy Toes, responsible for their trip told ABC in a statement: "All reasonable steps were taken to prevent this very unfortunate incident and staff responded swiftly and in line with our emergency protocols and procedures."

Topics: Life News, News, Real

Lisa McLoughlin
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