Fatal Shark Attack on Woman Snorkelling at St. Croix, January 2026

On 9 January 2026, a woman died following a suspected shark attack in the waters off St. Croix, a United States Virgin Island located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The incident was fatal, and two of the three reporting sources indicated that the victim sustained the loss of an arm during the attack. The activity at the time was reported by at least one source as snorkelling.

No information regarding the victim's age or the species of shark involved was available across the three sources covering the incident. Authorities have not been identified in the available reporting, and no further details concerning the precise location within St. Croix's waters or the circumstances leading to the attack were provided in the source material.

St. Croix is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands and sits approximately 64 kilometres west of Puerto Rico. Its coastal waters are frequented by recreational water users and are home to a variety of shark species common to the Caribbean region.