A young man, Victor Alejandro Soto Garcia, aged 22, tragically lost his life while diving for scallops in the Pacific Ocean near the Mexican coast. The incident occurred on December 29, near Playa Tojahui, a beach located in the town of Huatabampo, Sonora state. Garcia was attacked by a great white shark, estimated to be 13 feet long, which resulted in the loss of his left leg.
Garcia was free-diving at the time of the attack. His fellow fishermen, who were present at the scene, brought his body back to the pier in Yavaros, as reported by the Sonora Civil Protection agency CEPC. Despite immediate attempts to save his life, Garcia succumbed to his injuries on the spot.
At the time of the fatal incident, Garcia was not equipped with a shark-repellent bracelet. These devices, which emit electronic signals or chemicals, are designed to deter sharks from approaching humans in the water. In the previous year, around 100 such bracelets were distributed to local fishermen in the Sonora state.
Following the tragic event, the Sonora Civil Protection agency issued a statement urging fishermen to take necessary preventive measures while carrying out their activities. The agency emphasized the importance of safety equipment and precautions to avoid such unfortunate incidents in the future.
This is not the first time such a tragedy has occurred in the region. In 2022 and 2023, five scallop fishermen lost their lives to shark attacks off the Sonora coast, as reported by El Financiero. Just weeks prior to Garcia’s incident, a 76-year-old Belgian man was killed by either a shark or a crocodile at a beach in Ixtapa, Guerrero.
In another incident in early December, a 26-year-old mother was fatally attacked by a shark near the town of Melaque while she was helping her child onto a floating platform. The victim, Fernandez Martinez Jimenez, a former marine biology student at the University of Guadalajara, bled to death after the shark bit off her leg.