An American woman had her foot bitten off in a shark attack while snorkeling at a Turks and Caicos resort on Wednesday, police said.

According to CBS News, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force noted that the 22-year-old unidentified woman was from Connecticut.

In a press release shared on social media on Wednesday night, police said the incident occurred at a resort near the Leeward Marina in Providenciales, the third-largest island in the country, while the American woman was snorkeling with a friend.

However, how the two escaped the shark and returned to shore was still unclear. Police reportedly received a call from a resort employee at around 3:07 p.m. local time to request an ambulance.

According to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, the resort staff said the female victim had her leg bitten off by a shark.

Police officers quickly arrived on the scene, along with an ambulance, and the American woman was then taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she first received treatment. Local police initially described her condition as "serious." 

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Shark Attack Hurt American Woman in Turks and Caicos

According to the Daily Mail, the American woman went to Turks and Caicos to celebrate her graduation from Yale University with her friend.

A local source told the outlet that the victim had signed up for a private ocean tour before she went snorkeling along Grace Bay Beach at Bone Yard dive site, where she was attacked by what is believed to be a Caribbean Reef Shark.

Disturbing images show the American woman's left foot that the shark bit off. The rescue boat's captain bravely jumped into the water to rescue the victim before she was rushed to the hospital.

The captain then applied a tourniquet to her leg to stop the bleeding. The captain also managed to recover the victim's foot from the water and placed it on ice.

However, it was reportedly too late to attach it back to her leg after a six-hour wait for an emergency aircraft to fly the American woman from the hospital on the island to a medical facility in Miami, Florida.

The woman is reported to be stable and will be reunited with her parents in the hospital in Miami, where she will continue to receive the necessary care and treatment.

Shark Attacks Are Rare, Experts Say

As the Memorial Day weekend approaches, authorities urged beachgoers to exercise caution even though shark attacks are rare.

According to data from the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File for the past decade, the number of unprovoked shark attacks worldwide decreased last year.

It tied with 2020 for the fewest number of reported incidents in the past 10 years, according to CNN. The report noted that nine percent of shark bite incidents involved swimmers or divers.

Experts from the University of Florida said unprovoked attacks usually stem from the shark's natural behavior. They said sharks also attack due to outside circumstances, like fishing lines cast in feeding areas. 

In the case of a shark attack, experts suggest hitting a shark on the nose to deter its aggression temporarily. They also advised the public to claw at its eyes and gill openings if the shark bites.

READ MORE: Gabby Petito Update 

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: American Tourist Loses Foot in Shark Attack Off Turks and Caicos Islands - From CBS Evening News