List of fatal shark attacks in Réunion

This is a list of fatal shark attacks in Réunion. Reunion is an overseas department and region of France and an island in the Indian Ocean with over 207 km (128 miles) of coastline and hundreds of public and private beaches.[1]

A "Danger Requin" or caution sharks sign at a beach near Saint-Denis.

As of late 2018 there have been 27 fatal attacks and 56 total attacks since 1913.[2] The island was the locale for over 16% of the world's fatal attacks from 2011 to 2016.[3] The reason for the frequency of fatal attacks has to do with the island's tropical location. The island is situated in a so-called "shark highway" between Australia and South Africa, two countries with shark dominated waters. Many large sharks who use this shark highway find Réunion home due to its diverse aquatic ecosystem and coral reefs, offering sharks a thriving home.[4][5][6]

A study released in 2015 show Réunion with a staggering 3.15 per one million people would die in a shark attack, the next highest rating was South Africa with 0.76 per one million residents and 0.0013 in the United States.[7]

2000s

Name, age	Male/Female	Date	Location	Shark species	Details	Ref(s)
Kim Mahbouli, 28	M	9 May 2019	Saint-Leu	unknown	28 y/o surfer Kim Mahbouli, from Saint Denis, Paris, was attacked near Reunion Island on a banned stretch of surf and was pronounced dead after being brought back to the port of Saint-Leu. Surfing in the area is heavily restricted due to a rise in shark attacks, and authorities reportedly issued warnings to steer clear of the water earlier that morning. Local officials said Mahbouli was with 3 friends, who were all wearing shark-repelling devices on their ankles, who tried but weren't able to get him to land. Mahbouli was not wearing a repelling device.
Floris Huet, 41	M	30 January 2019	Sainte-Rose	unknown	Around 9:30 a.m. Jan. 30, Floris Huet went to the mouth of the East River with several friends.  The group was fishing for bichiques, a small fish often caught in nets. A few minutes after entering the water, the 41-year-old St. Joseph's man made it approximately 5m (16 feet) from the water's edge when a shark tore off his left leg. Huet's fishing partners pulled him from the cloudy water, but the man went into cardiac arrest and died.	[1]
Elio Canestri, 13	M	12 April 2015	Cap Homard, Saint-Gilles-les-Bains	Bull shark	Canestri was surfing with friends on the morning of April 12 when he got off his surf board and was treading water nearby friends said they heard Canestri scream and they saw blood and his board unattended he then resurfaced, unconscious friends and bystanders took him to a closed lifeguard shack where they attempted to stop the bleeding. He was pronounced dead en route to the hospital.	[8]
Talon Bishop, 22	F	15 February 2015	Ravine Mula, d’Étang-Salé	Tiger shark	Bishop was swimming with friends when as they turned to return to the beach Bishop was bitten in the left leg in 6 foot deep water. Bishop died the next day in hospital.	[9]
Sarah Roperh, 15	F	15 July 2013	Le cimetière marin, Saint-Paul	unknown	Roperh who was on holiday was snorkeling with a group of tourists when based on witness accounts Roperh was on the outer edge of the group in 10–12 foot waters. A dorsal fin was seen behind her just seconds prior to the attack. She was reportedly bitten on her right hip, other nearby swimmers dragged her ashore but it was believed she died in the water. The shark species is unknown.	[10]
Stéphane Berhamel, 36	M	8 May 2013	Brisant Beach, Saint-Gillies	Bull shark	Berhamel was body boarding when he was attacked.	[11]
Alexandre Rassiga, 22	M	23 July 2012	Trois-Bassins	unknown	Rassiga was surfing alone when he was attacked at approximately 3:30 p.m. he died later at hospital on the night of July 23.	[12]
Mathieu Schiller, 38	M	19 September 2011	Boucan-Cannot, Saint-Gilles	unknown	On 19 September 2011 at approximately noon Schiller's body board washed ashore with no sign of Schiller. This alerted lifeguards who at approx. 12:45 p.m. called for a full scale search, after three hours of searching a police helicopter found Schiller's body 50 feet out on a 75-foot rock jetti. Prior to ground crews arriving it was believed he drowned, until they discovered bite wounds along his side.	[13]
Eddie Aubert, 31	M	15 June 2011	Boucan-Cannot, Saint-Gilles-les-Bains	unknown	Aubert was attacked by an unknown species of shark while boogie boarding.	[14]
Sébastien Émond, 34	M	20 August 2006	Pointe du Diable, Saint-Pierre	Great white shark	Émond was surfing alone on 20 August after work when he was attacked by a Great white shark, his left leg was bitten off midway up his thigh. Its believed he died in the water before he could be pulled ashore.	[15]

1900s

Name, age	Male/Female	Date	Location	Shark species	Details	Ref(s)
Guy Oudin, 52	M	11 April 1999	Roche-aux-Oiseaux, L' Etang Salé-les-Bains	three Bull sharks	Oudin was swept out to sea by a 70-foot wave while standing on a jetti. Witnesses say there were multiple dorsal fins observed around Oudin and he was attacked nearly 300 feet from shore he body wasn't recovered until April 13.	[16]
unknown	F	3 January 1999	Off the coast of Saint-Leu	Great white shark	An unidentified female was killed while spearfishing.	[17]
Philippe Blu, 71	M	25 January 1998	Grand'Anse	Bull shark	Blu was attacked when bathing at private beach near his home.	[18]
unknown	unknown	1 January 1998	Beaufonds	Bull shark	An unidentified person from Paris was killed when attacked by a bull shark near Beaufonds.	[19][20]
David Lonne, 20s	M	3 January 1997	la Pointe-au-Sel	unknown	Lonne was spearfishing with a friend when they were both attacked Lonne was pulled ashore by his injured friend but died on arrival to the hospital.	[21]
Grégory Bénèche, 25	M	10 January 1996	Embouchure de l'étang de Saint Paul, Saint-Paul	Tiger shark	Bénèche was attacked by a 662 lbs (300 kg) tiger shark while surfing. The shark was later killed and with a $2,000 reward.	[22]
Jerome Pruneaux, unknown	M	16 September 1996	Saint-Denis	unknown	Attacked while body boarding.	[23]
Thierry Boulay, 24	M	9 July 1995	Barachois, Saint-Denis	Bull shark	Boulay was attacked by a 10 or 12 foot (3.5 to 4 m) long shark while windsurfing.	[24]
unknown	unknown	15 April 1994	Lieu-dit Cayenne, Saint-Joseph	Bull shark	An unidentified person was killed by a bull shark at a popular beach in Saint-Joseph.	[25]
Theirry Mercredi, 16	M	28 June 1992	Cap de la Marianne, Saint-Paul	Lemon shark or Bull shark	Mercredi was surfing when he cut his leg on coral or a rock moments later he was dragged off of his board and savagely attacked by a lemon shark. A friend who was 20 feet away paddled as fast as he could punching the shark away Mercedi was conscious and aware until medical staff arrived but his condition worsened dying hours later.	[26]
Emmanuel Nativel, unknown	M	22 May 1992	Lieu-dit Cayenne, Saint, Joseph	Tiger shark	Nativel was killed by a 11-foot tiger shark.	[27]
Bruno Giraud, 30s	M	19 July 1989	Temple Tamoule, Sainte-Suzanne	unknown	Attacked while surfing	[28]
Jean-Felix Taochyn, 25	M	28 April 1988	Embouchure de l'étang du Gol, Saint-Louis	unknown	Taochyn was attacked during an aquatic race and was the only death in the events history.	[29]
unknown	M	1 January 1975	Saint-Denis	Great White shark	An unidentified Troupes de marine officer on holiday from mainland France was attacked by a great white while swimming.	[30]
unknown	F	7 December 1972	Basse Vallée, Saint-Philippe	Bull shark	An unidentified woman was attacked after falling from a yacht drunk. Witnesses say sharks were seen in the area over the past week. Woman reportedly swam towards the sharks. Police reported death a possible suicide.	[31]
unknown	unknown	1 December 1972	Saint-Philippe	Great white shark	Unidentified person attacked at tourist beach in Saint-Philippe.	[32]
unknown	M	1 January 1918	Barachois, Saint-Denis	unknown		[33]
unknown	M	1 January 1913	Barachois, Saint-Denis	unknown	Unknown man who jumped in harbor after hat.	[34]
unknown	M	1 January 1913	Barachois, Saint-Denis	unknown	Unnamed person attacked while swimming believed both January 1, 1913 deaths were from the same shark.	[35]

Attack demographics

Percentage of fatal and non-fatal attacks in Reunion

  Fatal attacks (47.3%)

  Non-fatal attacks (52.7%)

Fatalities and attacks by species

#	Species	Fatalities	#	Species	Total attacks
1	unknown	11	1	Great white	17
2	Bull	8	2	Bull	14
3	Great white	4	3	unknown	9
4	Tiger	3	4	Tiger	8
5	Lemon	1	5	Lemon	5
			6	Mako	3

See also

• List of fatal, unprovoked shark attacks in the United States
• List of fatal shark attacks in South African territorial waters
• List of fatal shark attacks in Australia
• List of fatal shark attacks in California

References

1. "Yearly Worldwide Shark Attack Summary". Florida Museum. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
2. Madden, Duncan. "The Annual Worldwide Shark Attack Summary Is Out". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
3. Macdonald, Jessica (2017-03-13). "Reunion: An In-Depth Look at the Island's Shark Attacks". DeeperBlue.com. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
4. Simply, Surf. "A Reunion of Sharks". Surf Simply. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
5. "The Sharks Of Reunion". Tracks. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
6. "Another Fatal Shark Attack on Reunion Island". Surfline. 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
7. "2017 'average' year for shark attacks, deaths". #FloridaMuseumScience. 2018-02-05. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
8. "Shark attack at Cap Homard in Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
9. "Shark attack at Ravine Mula in d'Étang-Salé, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
10. "Shark attack at Le cimetière marin in Saint-Paul, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
11. "Shark attack at Brisant Beach in Saint Gilles, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
12. "Shark attack at Location unknown in Trois-Bassins, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
13. "Shark attack at Boucan-Canot in Saint Gilles, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
14. "Shark attack at Boucan-Canot in Saint Gilles, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
15. "Shark attack at Pointe du Diable in Saint-Pierre, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
16. "Shark attack at Roche-aux-Oiseaux in L' Etang Salé-les-Bains, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
17. "Shark attack at Pointe au Sel in Saint-Leu, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
18. "Shark Attack Data: Grand'Anse, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
19. "Shark Attack Data: Beaufonds, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
20. "Shark attack at Location unknown in Beaufonds, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
21. "Shark attack at la Pointe-au-Sel in Area unknown, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
22. "Shark attack at Embouchure de l'étang de Saint Paul in Saint-Paul, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
23. "Shark attack at Location unknown in Saint-Denis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
24. "Shark attack at Barachois in Saint-Denis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
25. "Shark attack at Lieu-dit Cayenne in Saint-Joseph, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
26. "Shark attack at Cap de la Marianne in Saint-Paul, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
27. "Shark attack at Lieu-dit Cayenne in Saint-Joseph, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
28. "Shark attack at Temple Tamoule in Sainte-Suzanne, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
29. "Shark attack at Embouchure de l'étang du Gol in Saint-Louis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
30. "Shark attack at Embouchure de l'étang du Gol in Saint-Louis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
31. "Shark Attack Data: Saint-Philippe, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
32. "Shark attack at Basse Vallée in Saint-Philippe, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
33. "Shark attack at Barachois in Saint-Denis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
34. "Shark attack at Barachoise bridge in Saint-Denis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
35. "Shark attack at Barachois in 5aint-Denis, Reunion". Shark Attack Data. Retrieved 2019-02-17.