Key Largo,FL โ – An 8-year-old boy was bitten by aโค shark while snorkeling off a Florida beach monday afternoon,accordingโฃ to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. The incidentโค occurred in the waters off Key largo, prompting โขa response from deputies and the โฃKey largo โFire Department.
Theโข boy’s current conditionโ isโค unknown. Authorities have not yet released โdetails regarding the species of shark involved or the extent ofโค the injuries. โThe Monroe county Sheriff’sโ Officeโ and Key Largo Fire Department have been contacted forโ further information. โขIt remains unclear if the child was snorkeling with a group โฃor alone.
Florida consistently โranks high for shark bites, with a recent โคstudy showing the state’s beaches โขaccounting for nine of the top ten โขspots in theโข U.S. for shark attacks.However, officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) emphasize thatโค while shark bites occur,โข thay areโค rareโค and โคseldom life-threatening.
The FWC โrecommends several safety measures to minimize theโ risk of shark encounters, including: swimming in groups and at beaches were lifeguardsโ are present; avoiding swimming at dawn or dusk, when sharks are most active; โstaying out of โขmurky โฃwater or โareas โnear โคfishingโ activity; and refraining from wearing shiny jewelryโ that โcould attractโฃ sharks.
This is a developing story and will be โupdated as more information becomes available.
Source: โ Monroe County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and the Florida Fish โฃand Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).