Maharashtra: Shark Bites Off Man's Leg While He Was Fishing, Killed By Locals Later

In a horrifying incident from Maharashtra’s Palghar, a man encountered a shark during fishing, who then circled him and bit him in the leg.

A video of the incident was shot by a local and it showed the shark coming out of the water and flapping its tail. The locals caught the fish using a net and brought to the shore but it was not clear whether there more sharks in the water.

The shark, allegedly entered the Vaitarna River, that flows through the Nashik and Palghar districts and westward into the Arabian Sea. On Tuesday, Vicky Gowari entered the bay with some people for fishing, where surprisingly a shark was present, which bit Vicky’s leg and severely injured him.

Following the shocking encounter, even though Gowari survived, almost half of his leg below the left knee was chopped off by the shark and he fell unconscious due to excessive loss of blood, NDTV reported.

The victim was later rushed to a hospital in Manor and a crowd had gathered near the shore as the incident created a state of panic among the locals people.

In another video of the incident, it can be seen that the shark, which was killed by locals is held by a rope on the shore and blood stains can be seen on its belly.

The bull shark was about seven feet long and weighed nearly 130 kg, said Pawan Sharma, who is the founder and president of non-profit RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare) and also the honorary wildlife warden with the state forest department.

The Mangrove Cell, which takes care of the marine and aquatic wildlife wings of the forest department, will look into the matter, Sharma said.

Bull sharks are usually found in the sea but there are reports and evidence of them being found in creeks, rivers and dams several kilometres away from saltwater due to reasons like reduction in prey base due to excessive fishing, being victims of bycatch, degradation and habitat loss, he said.

Bull sharks are considered a vulnerable species as per the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and are among the top protected species of sharks that are facing extinction worldwide, he added.

(with agency inputs)