I received this from another list. I was wondering if it was true. Given the rarity of shark attacks, it just seems a bit suspect and I was wondering if anyone out there had heard this and knew what really happened. > Man Says Wife Dies in Hawaii Honeymoon Shark Attack > > Reuters > 23-MAR-99 > > MAUI, Hawaii, March 23 (Reuters) - A California man has told police that > his Hawaiian honeymoon turned into a hellish ordeal last week when he > lost his new bride to a vicious shark attack off the Maui coast. > > Mark Monazzami of Sunnyvale, Calif., told authorities his story after he > was airlifted to safety Sunday from Kahoolawe, an uninhabited island 12 > miles (19 km) west of Maui that the U.S. Navy used to use as a bombing > target practice area. > > Monazzami, a 39-year-old airline engineer who came to the United States > from Iran 20 years ago, told authorities that he was visiting the Maui > resort community of Lahaina on a belated honeymoon with his 29-year-old > wife Naghid Davoodabai, whom he married about eight months ago after she > arrived in the United States from Iran. > > The pair set out last Thursday for an afternoon kayak trip, staying > close to the beach on calm seas, he said. > > On a third foray from shore, however, they found themselves quickly > swept out to sea by unexpectedly strong winds. > > "It was so strong, I was freezing," Monazzami told the San Jose, Calif., > Mercury News, which reported the story on Tuesday. "I said, 'what's > going on here? Have we been cursed?'." > > Monazzami said he and his wife yelled and waved their paddles to attract > attention, but to no avail. Then the wind and waves drew them further > out into the ocean, capsizing their kayak several times. > > They were hanging onto the boat when Davoodabai screamed "Mark, shark! > My arm's gone," Monazzami told the Mercury News. > > He hauled her onto the kayak and tried to use the drawstring from his > swimsuit as a tourniquet to staunch the flow of blood, but she > eventually bled to death in his arms, he said. > > He said he drifted on the kayak overnight and that his wife's body > slipped into the sea at some point as the kayak was buffeted by winds. > The boat ran ashore on Kahoolawe's rocky coast Friday morning. > > After wandering the island for two days wearing only a life vest, he > stumbled upon an old military bunker with a satellite dish. Inside, he > found a working telephone and he dialed the 911 emergency number. > > A helicopter airlifted him to Maui Memorial Medical Centre, where he was > listed in stable condition Tuesday. > > "He has declined all new interview requests," Boyd Kleefisch, the > hospital's chief executive, told Reuters. "We can all empathize. If he > was in the water for that long, and lost his wife, he must be very > upset." > > Davoodabai's body has so far not been recovered despite searches by > helicopter and ship, and Maui police said they were handling the > incident as a missing person case. > > A gray kayak resembling the one rented by Monazzami and Davoodabai was > recovered Tuesday from Kahoolawe, and authorities were testing it to see > if it was in fact their vessel, a police spokeswoman said. > > The incident marked the second apparent shark attack in the waters > around Maui in recent weeks. A snorkler was bitten on the leg off > Kaanapali Beach on March 6. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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