A Canadian woman trying to take a picture of a shark near the Caribbean’s Turks and Caicos Islands lost both hands and suffered a bite to her thigh when the shark attacked her.

The assault came on Feb. 7, when the unnamed tourist “attempted to engage the shark from the shallows” in waters off the island of Providenciales, the Turks and Caicos government said in a release Wednesday on Facebook.

The shark was 6 feet long, though Turks and Caicos officials say they don’t know what type it was. Tourism promotion organization Visit Turks & Caicos Islands says the shark could have been a bull or tiger shark.

The islands have had four shark attacks since 2021, with all four victims surviving. 

The recent victim walked back to shore after being helped out of the water, then received medical assistance to stanch the bleeding, according to the Daily Mail.

The beach in question was closed temporarily, and the woman was flown for further medical care, the Turks and Caicos government said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.