A British woman is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a shark while snorkelling off Ascension Island, with her husband heroically punching the predator to free her.
Frankie Gonsalves, originally from Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, was swimming with her husband Dean and their two children, aged seven and ten, when the shark clamped its jaws around her leg and foot on 9 April. Dean waded over and punched the shark on the nose, causing it to release his wife. The couple then scrambled to shore as the shark lunged for Dean.
Frankie suffered deep puncture wounds to her leg but doctors in Georgetown, the capital of Ascension Island, confirmed she would not lose the limb. She was later airlifted to St Mary's Hospital in London for specialist trauma care. Dean sustained only bruising from the punch.
The species of shark involved is unknown. Frankie's father, Irving Benjamin from Deal, Kent, said: 'Thank God it wasn't the kids. When Dean called he made every effort to reassure us Frankie was alive and OK.'
The incident comes as shark attacks worldwide reached a record high of 107 last year, with experts warning that rising water temperatures and activities such as shark cage diving are bringing sharks closer to shores.
