Pregnant Wife Dives In To Save Husband From Shark Attack

Wikimedia/Andrew Eddy/Facebook

A pregnant woman didn’t have to think twice after seeing a shark attack her husband during a snorkelling trip in the Florida Keys, diving into the ocean to rescue him immediately.

Margot Dukes-Eddy was on a boat with her husband Andrew Eddy, her parents and other members of her family when the incident unfolded on Sunday morning, September 20, at Sombrero Reef in the Middle Keys.

Shortly after 30-year-old Andrew slid off the back of the boat into the water at around 10.30am, a large shark, which witnesses say was likely a bull shark, latched onto his shoulder and blood immediately filled the water.

Andrew Eddy/Facebook

According to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office report, obtained by the Miami Herald, the pregnant Margot leaped off the boat to her husband’s aid, disregarding her own safety to help Andrew.

‘Dukes saw the shark’s dorsal fin and then blood filling the water,’ Deputy Christopher Aguanno wrote in his report. ‘Dukes, without hesitation, dove into the water and pulled Eddy to the safety of the boat.’

Thanks to his wife’s quick reactions, Andrew was pulled out of the water, before being taken by boat to Sombrero Beach in Marathon, where medics and the city’s fire and rescue team were waiting for him.

Medics tended to Andrew’s injuries while they waited for an air ambulance to take him to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. The 30-year-old’s shoulder injury was described as ‘severe’.

Andrew Eddy/Facebook

Those who witnessed the attack said Andrew was attacked ‘almost immediately’ after entering the water. According to the sheriff’s office report, Margot’s father, sister and sister’s boyfriend had gone into the water before Andrew jumped in.

There were also several other snorkelers in the area who had travelled there on separate boats. The sheriff’s office said nobody was fishing or putting chum in the water where the attack took place.

Witnesses estimated the shark’s length to be between eight and 10 feet, with boaters who had been in the area earlier that day telling deputies they had seen a bull shark in the vicinity.

PA Images

George Burgess, the retired director of the International Shark Attack File, agreed with witnesses that the shark which bit Andrew was likely a bull, not a tiger shark as some had speculated.

‘Bulls are regular inhabitants at that attack site, tigers less so, but still common,’ he said, noting that both species are among the top three in the Keys for the most unprovoked attacks on humans.

Andrew’s condition is currently unknown. We hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

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