A surfer has been bitten by a shark while surfing off a beach in the Galapagos Islands. The surfer, identified as Gonzalo Vasquez Alcivar, 22, suffered serious injuries to the leg and hand.
The attack occurred last Saturday, when Gazalo, was surfing while surfing off Villamil beach on Isabela Island, which is part of the Galapagos archipelago.
According to his sister, Ingrid Vasquez, Gonzalo was surfing with friends when the shark bit him on the bottom of the right foot. In the process of fighting off the shark, Gonzalo tried to open the mouth of the shark, when three fingers from his right hand were lacerated.
Gonzalo was treated at a hospital in Santa Cruz, but the severity of his injuries warranted a transfer to a clinic to Guayaquil, where doctors are still trying to repair his severely injured foot. The resident physician at the clinic stated there is a 50% chance the foot could be saved.
This is the second shark attack in the Galapagos archipelago in less than two months. On November 24, 2008, a shark attacked a Danish tourist south of Santa Cruz Island. The woman right leg was saved after sixteen successful surgeries.