A 63-year-old American tourist was severely injured after he was attacked by a shark while spearfishing in the Bahamas on Sunday, local authorities said.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement shared on Facebook that the attack happened shortly after 1 p.m. near Big Grand Cay on the island of Abaco. Officials said the man sustained severe injuries and was taken to a local clinic for medical assistance. He was then airlifted to the U.S. for additional treatment.

Additional information was not immediately available.

The Bahamas has one of the world's highest rates of shark attacks, although data shows they are still extremely rare.

There have been just 34 confirmed attacks in the Bahamas over the last 400 years, according to the International Shark Attack File, a database that tracks shark encounters with humans worldwide. That tally is the ninth highest of all countries tracked.

Two American tourists were injured after an apparent shark attack while swimming in the popular Bahamian resort area Bimini Bay in February. Bimini Bay is part of the westernmost island in the Bahamas, some 50 miles from Miami.

In December 2023, a woman from Boston died in a shark attack while paddleboarding with a family member, police said at the time. Shortly after, in January 2024, a 10-year-old boy from Maryland sustained a bite while participating in a shark tank expedition at another Bahamian resort. He was hospitalized for a bite on the leg, according to police.

Elsewhere, on Friday, two Carnival Cruise passengers from the U.S. drowned in separate incidents at Carnival Cruise Line's new Bahamas resort, authorities said.

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