A shark attacked and killed a 16-year-old Jamaican high school student whose body was found in the water just north of the island, authorities said.
Police identified the victim as Jahmari Reid of the northern parish of Trelawny, which is just east of the popular tourist town of Montego Bay.
The teenager apparently went spear fishing alone early Monday, with fishermen finding his body the next day with injuries consistent with a shark attack, police said in a report late Tuesday.
Since 1749, only three unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in Jamaica, according to the International Shark Attack File, which is administered by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the American Elasmobranch Society.
Shark attacks are rare, with a total of 69 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide and 14 deaths were reported last yearaccording to the file. The report noted that a “disproportionate” amount of people died of shark bite in Australia last year compared to other countries, and Australia accounted for around 22% of the world’s unprovoked shark attacks in 2023.
In July, a the surfer lost his leg after a great white shark attacked him in Australia.
The month before that, surfers Tamayo Perry died after sustaining fatal injuries in a shark attack off the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
In January, a young fisherman dives for scallops killed by a shark off the Pacific coast of Mexico.