Shark landed on deck bites angler’s lower arm

An angler was bitten by a shark he had already caught on board his boat as he tried to reel in a second one.

The fisherman, from Belfast, was trying to unhook his catch off the Cork coast when the blue shark on board bit his lower arm on Saturday evening.

The RNLI said he received a serious injury and was given first aid by fellow crew members before being transferred to the lifeboat, which took him to a waiting ambulance, then on to Cork University Hospital.

“This was more of an angling accident than a shark attack. There was a bit of a struggle when pulling the shark on board,” the RNLI added.