Diver bitten by shark at Ashdod port

A diver was bitten by a shark Sunday at a fishery at the Ashdod port, where he was working at the time.

The fish farm worker’s right hand was partially severed but he did not lose consciousness and his condition was stable in hospital later Sunday, medics said. He was undergoing surgery Sunday afternoon, and surgeons said they did not anticipate that he would lose the hand.

The diver, 26, was working with a colleague at a warren of undersea fish cages when he was bitten by the shark. His colleague pulled him out of the water and he was taken by boat to the nearby port, where he received first aid.

He was then transferred by Magen David Adom to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital for further treatment. Doctors said they could not recall an Israeli being bitten by a shark at any time in at least the last 20 years.

The Sunday incident was not the first time sharks were sighted off Israel’s shores.

In April 2012 two amateur fishermen accidentally caught a 2-meter long shark in Ashdod, and in 2005 sharks were captured in the area on two separate occasions.