Ian Redmond and Gemma Houghton on their wedding day. Photo credit: Facebook
The latest fatal shark attack at the Anse Lazio beach on Praslin Island claimed the life of Ian Redmond, a 30-year-old British man who married his wife Gemma just eleven days before he died. A 36-year-old French tourist was killed by a shark off the same beach just over two weeks ago. The beach is just 20 miles from where Prince William and wife Kate honeymooned.
Seemingly intent on damage limitation, the Seychelles Tourism Board’s director Alain St Ange told the BBC the latest attack was caused by a “foreign shark” and was a “freak accident.” He said: “We need to find the beast and get it out of our waters, we have requested help from South Africa and two experts are arriving in the country in the next day.” Prior to this month’s deaths, the last recorded fatal shark attack in the Seychelles was in 1963.
- Foreign office warn Brits off swimming. In light of the shark attacks, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office updated their advice on swimming in the Seychelles. Advice, which was amended on August 17, read: “Although shark attacks are extremely rare, two fatal incidents (one involving a British national) off Anse Lazio on the island of Praslin have led to the Seychelles Maritime Safety Authority implementing a temporary ban on entering the water and swimming … You are advised to avoid entering the water or swimming at these locations until further notice.”
- That’s my husband. The Sun tabloid spelled out the grisly details of the attack, which occurred in shallow waters: “Bride Gemma Houghton, 27, from Wigan, was sunbathing and heard him shout ‘Help, help’ as the Bull shark savaged him. Ian suffered horrific injuries as the monster tore huge chunks of flesh from his body. Fishermen carried him to the beach in a dinghy but he died before paramedics could arrive as his wife wept beside him and screamed ‘that’s my husband.’”
- Global warming link? “Coral reefs that surround the Seychelles have in the past prevented larger sharks from entering shallower waters near the beaches,” noted The Daily Mail which asked, “did erosion, damage caused by tsunami waves or global warming cause parts of the coral reef to disappear, allowing larger and more dangerous sharks nearer the shore?” The paper speculated that the killer shark is either a bull or a tiger shark, both of which “visit shallow reefs, harbours and canals, creating the potential for encounters with humans.”
- Tuna canning factory lured shark? The Daily Telegraph suggested that there might be a link between the shark attacks and the Seychellois fishing industry, “with the Seychelles hosting the largest tuna canning factory in the world. The dumping of fish waste into coastal waters is thought to lure predators.”
“Seychelles police say that the terrible shark attack was the work of a single ‘rogue’ shark. Oh aye. Where’ve we heard that one before?” tweeted ex-News of the World TV critic Ian Hyland, presumably in reference to News International’s insistence that ex-News of the World Royal Editor Clive Goodman, the only journalist so far charged with phone hacking, acted as lone rogue.