An American tourist has been killed in a shark attack off the remote Costa Rican island of Isla Del Coco.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, is understood to have been attacked by a tiger shark while diving with a group of tourists.

The Costa Rican environment ministry confirmed the attack took place on Thursday afternoon, around 330m (530km) from Costa Rica's Pacific coast.

The woman was removed from the water and treated for severe bites to her limbs, but later died.

The dive master also suffered a shark bite, but survived the attack. He is now said to be in a serious but stable condition.


He told officials that the shark attacked as the group surfaced following a dive.

All attempts to drive from the animal away were unsuccessful.

Tiger sharks generally grow to around 15ft (4.6m) in length and weigh up to 1,900lbs (862kg).

They are regarded as one of the most dangerous shark species, second only to great white in recorded attacks on people.

Unlike great whites, tiger sharks - who are known to eat just about anything - are unlikely to swim away after biting a human, according to National Geographic.