5. Elio Canestri
Reunion Island is a French island, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Its beaches are well known surfing areas, and between 2011 and 2015, there were 16 shark attacks there. Seven of them were fatal. When the attacks started happening, the government set up spotters on the beach to watch for the sharks. In fact, there was a ban against going into the water without spotters.
That’s what makes the story of Elio Canestri so tragic. In 2015, Elio was 13-years-old and one of the up and coming stars of the Reunion surfing scene. On April 13, 2015, Elio left the following note for his mother: “Don’t worry, Mom, I’m going surfing. If there’s no security, I won’t surf.” Tragically, Elio didn’t do what he said he would in his note. He and six other people went surfing without a spotter.
As Elio went to mount a wave about 50 feet from the shore, a shark bit him in the stomach and then flung him around. Finally, the shark started to pull him out to sea. A boat was launched and Elio’s body was retrieved, but he died later in the hospital.
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