Mangaluru, Dec 3: In a tragic incident, an Indian-origin American woman was mauled to death by a tiger shark while she was scuba diving in the Pacific Ocean off an island in the Republic of Costa Rica recently.
The deceased has been identified as Rohina Bhandari (49), a private equity director from New York City. She hailed from India’s Mangaluru city. She is the granddaughter of I G Balakrishna Shetty, and sister of Mangaluru based physician, Dr Nitin Bhandari.
Thought the incident occurred last Thursday, the news was reported by the New York Daily News lateSaturday. The attack also badly injured the 26-year-old male Costa Rican diving guide leading the group that included Bhandari.
The shark savaged the two as they were surfacing after a dive off Cocos Island, a pristine national park located 300 miles off the Costa Rican mainland, the environment ministry said in a statement.
Bhandari was said to have sustained fatal bite marks on both of her legs. The news agency stressed the attack was 'an isolated incident' and the first one of such seriousness recorded for the island.
According to the Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion, the guide noticed the shark approaching his group underwater and tried to scare it away.
But as they surfaced, the shark went for the American woman, tearing at her legs. The guide, too, suffered leg injuries.
Park rangers came to assist, as did doctors who happened to be diving in the area and who declared the woman dead. The injured guide was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition and conscious. He said he believed the shark was a female.
Death sends shockwaves
Bhandari, a resident of Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York was a senior director at WL Ross & Co. LL, a firm founded by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
She was also frequently spotted at charity events throughout the city. Her death was met with shock and sadness by her friends on Facebook.
“Unbelievably sad and heartbreaking news that Rohina has died,” wrote Julie Walker. “She was such a wonderful person who loved life. I will always remember her kindness, friendship and our adventures together.”
“Your kindness and genuine warmth to those of us lucky enough to call you "friend" was a blessing to behold,” another friend wrote.
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