so much for Professional courtesy
Man Who Wanted To Swim With The Sharks Dies After Being Bitten
Tuesday February 26, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's always seen as a terrible way to die. An Austrian tourist who always wanted to swim with sharks finally got his chance at living his adventure - and it cost him his life.
Markus Groh, a lawyer from Vienna, booked a trip with Scuba Adventures for a chance to swim with the fishes off the Bahamas, little knowing how tragically apt that phrase would become. The company specializes in extreme experiences, which lets clients come "face to face" with sharks.
But there are no cages in their arsenal. Instead, they bait the water with bloody fish parts to attract the sharp-teethed creatures and let enthusiasts literally get up close and personal with the underwater predators.
That's what the unprotected diver was doing when one of the sharks got a little too close, and wound up biting him on the leg. The crew in the boat sent out to ferry him to his destination fished him out of the water and immediately called the U.S. Coast Guard, which raced to the rescue.
Groh was airlifted to a local hospital and while authorities won't reveal the exact injury he sustained, it proved to be a fatal one. He died in the emergency room. It's still not clear what kind of shark was involved, although the company's website claims it specializes in bringing swimmers close to a wide variety of species, including hammerhead and tiger sharks.
The firm has so far refused to comment on exactly what happened, but its site points out that there is some risk in taking them up on their most challenging offer. "There will be food in the water at the same time as the divers," it warns. "Please be aware that these are not 'cage' dives, they are open water experiences."
Groh was just 49 years old.