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SURFER KILLED BY SHARK IN MEXICO
San Francisco surfer bleeds to death
By: Marcus Sanders
SURF NEWS SURFER KILLED BY SHARK IN MEXICO
May 1, 2008
108257 visits
San Francisco surfer Adrian Ruiz, 25, was attacked and killed by a shark while surfing at Troncones in Mainland Mexico on Monday afternoon. According to local paper Despertar de la Costa, the shark bit him on the right thigh, left a 15-inch wound, and he died from blood loss. He was about 300 yards offshore when attacked, and the situation was aggravated by a lack of emergency services at the beach. The estimate is that the tiger might have been up to 660 pounds. Ruiz, who worked as a bartender in San Francisco and took frequent surf trips, had just arrived in Troncones for a surf holiday.
 
According to the SF Chronicle, Ruiz, was unconscious when he reached shore around 7pm, and had a large wound reaching from the right hip to the knee. His friend Brant Helms was keeping Ruiz afloat and screaming for help.
Hotel employee Osman Altamirano grabbed Ruiz by the arms, helped carry him back to the beach and tried CPR. "We were all shocked. There was blood everywhere. We have never seen anything like this," Altamirano said. "Everything was happening so fast."

The hotel workers called an ambulance, but Altamirano knew that it would take too long to reach Troncones. When a bystander offered to take Ruiz in his truck to the military hospital in Ixtapa, about 30 minutes away, Altamirano and Helms went along.

According to the Public Safety Department statement, Ruiz died several minutes after reaching the hospital "due to the loss of blood."

Also, it's believed that days before the attack, divers saw a large tiger shark in the area. Two weeks ago, a swimmer disappeared in this area and presumed drowned.

According to Serge Dedina of California/Mexico environmental group Wildcoast, as of Wednesday, sharks were being killed in Troncones to appease surfers. The Shark hunt was ordered by Ministry of Communications and Transport.

Meanwhile, Wildcoast just launched a new campaign reduce shark slaughter in Mexico. More info.

Shark attacks are relatively rare in Mexico. In 2006, the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History reported only one attack in Mexico, which was not fatal.

Our deepest condolences go out to Ruiz's family and friends. This just in from Jeff Ramos, MD:
I was staying at the Puesta Del Sol, about 300 yards south of the attack on Adrian Ruiz when it happened. I can tell you that I, and the other surfers in the area, were absolutely scared afterward to go in the water. The Mexican newspapers don't censor photos like in the US and as a doctor I found the picture of his right thigh wound interesting. It appeared to be lateral and posterior, which should've avoided the largest artery in the leg. In other words, I think he may have survived had this happened in the states. I also want to point out that none of us asked Mexican officials to go on a shark slaughter and all of us saw it for the foolish, wasteful act that it was. Truly tragic.
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