The Worst Shark Attacks in History

Shark attacks on humans are rare. Despite how movies and the media depict them, sharks are not hunters of people. Your chances of getting attacked by a shark are one in 11.5 million. And the chances of dying from a shark attack are less than one in 264.2 million. The truth is, sharks are generally shy. When they do bite people, it’s often by accident or because they were provoked. However, that doesn’t mean a shark attack won’t be horrific when it does occur. We’ve rounded up five of the deadliest and most frightening shark attacks in history.

1. World War II: USS Indianapolis

It was the deadliest shark attack ever recorded. During WWII, it’s estimated that 150 sailors and crew were attacked and killed by sharks after their ship was sunk. It was July 1945, near the end of the war. The USS Indianapolis had just delivered critical parts for the first operational atomic bomb to an American naval base in the Pacific. This bomb was detonated only two weeks later in Hiroshima, Japan, ending the war. The sailors had raced from San Francisco to the base in only ten days to deliver the parts.

The USS Indianapolis was on its way through the Pacific Ocean, headed for the Philippines. It was in the middle of the night, when much of the crew was sleeping, that Japanese torpedoes tore through the ship, creating explosions and ripping the vessel in two. The ship sank in 12 minutes, sending 900 men into the water.

Aggressive Ocean Whitetip Sharks Swarmed the Shipwreck

Scientists believe that predatory sharks were drawn to the wreckage after hearing the sounds of the boat exploding. Some of these sharks were ocean whitetips. These predatory sharks are opportunistic hunters and highly aggressive. Though fish is their main food source, they will hunt stingrays, birds, sea turtles, and crustaceans. Beachgoers aren’t likely to encounter ocean whitetips near the shore. But they are often the first sharks to arrive after a boating accident.

Experts believe around 150 men were killed by either whitetips or tiger sharks that had been drawn to the area to scavenge sailors killed in the initial blast. The sharks soon turned their attention to the men swimming in the water nearby, likely attracted by the men’s thrashing. The men who were not attacked by sharks died from saltwater poisoning, starvation, or exposure. Only 316 sailors and crew survived to be rescued from the water four days and five nights after the ship sank.

2. Jersey Shore Attacks of 1916

There was a string of shark attacks along the Jersey shore in July 1916, eerily similar to the movie “Jaws”. However, the book’s author (who inspired Steven Spielberg’s famous movie) told reporters that the 1916 attacks did not inspire him to write the book. During that fateful month, five people swimming in the ocean on the Jersey shore were attacked by an alleged great white shark. Four of the five were killed. The attacks occurred over a short span from July 1st through the 12th. If it were a single shark, it stalked the beaches from a small town north of Atlantic City up to an inland creek near New York Harbor.

George Burgess, ichthyologist and curator of the International Shark Attack File (kept at the Florida Museum of Natural History), told the Smithsonian that the attacks were the “most unique set of shark attacks that have ever occurred.” According to Burgess, so little was known about sharks in those days, people didn’t know what creature had been attacking at first. Some speculated the attackers were sea turtles or a killer whale. Once scientists discovered it was a great white shark, communities along the shore began offering rewards for catching sharks.

A Great White Shark Was Caught, But Was It the Culprit?

Finally, a great white shark was caught that was said to have the remains of two of the victims in its stomach. Burgess told the Smithsonian that it’s hard to know for certain, as record-keeping and scientific testing were quite a bit different over 100 years ago. “The question we at the International Shark Attack File have is,” he said, “how good was the report that the animal was, one, a white shark and, two, really had human remains that could be identified as those two people?” It’s highly unusual for a great white shark to target humans, especially in a killing spree such as this one. If the killings were made by one shark alone, we would never know exactly what was going on. Burgess theorizes, “It could have been a shark that was either injured or had some sort of deformity.”

3. Attack on Shirley Ann Durdin

In 1985, one of the most tragic and gruesome shark attacks occurred when a great white shark attacked Shirley Ann Durdin as her horrified family watched in terror. Durdin was diving for scallops off the coast of Wiseman’s Beach in Peake Bay, Australia. With her family and onlookers nearby, a great white shark appeared out of nowhere and attacked her. Witnesses described the shark as 20 feet long.

Durdin was at the beach with her husband and four children, who could do nothing but watch the horrible scene. In the end, the shark consumed her entirely, leaving no trace behind. Peake Bay is located in South Australia, where a number of shark species live, including the great white. After many years without shark attacks in the area, there has been a recent increase in attacks on swimmers and surfers.

4. The Pacific Coast Attacks of 1984

Another string of tragic attacks occurred in 1984 along America’s Pacific Coast. In only 15 days, four people were attacked, with one person killed. A 28-year-old abalone diver, Omar Conger, was the first to be attacked. He and his diving partner were at Pigeon Point, which is located along the coastal highway between the cities of Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

Although his friend bravely pulled him away from the shark, Conger died of blood loss. His companion, Chris Rehm, identified the shark as a great white. Rehm said it had emerged from behind Conger, grabbing him and pulling him underwater. According to a report from the Shark Research Committee, the pair had been about 500 feet from shore. Chillingly, the experts believe the shark swam under Rehm before reaching Conger.

According to a newspaper article from the time, a ranger had told reporters the great white shark had likely mistaken Conger for a seal. The area was a common hunting ground for great whites. The newspaper article stated that despite warnings to beachgoers, people continued swimming up and down the coast that summer.

5. The HMS Birkenhead

In 1852, the HMS Birkenhead, a British ship carrying soldiers and civilians, hit jagged rocks off the coast of South Africa, causing it to sink. Instead of chaos, Colonel Seton ordered the soldiers to “Stand fast!” letting women and children board the lifeboats first. This set a precedent for the “women and children first” rule during maritime disasters.

While all of the women and children lived, many soldiers drowned with the ship. Out of 638 people, only 193 survived. Those who survived in the water were attacked by a group of sharks that had been attracted to the scene. Although there are no records of exactly how many people were killed by sharks, survivors reported seeing many of their fellow soldiers taken by sharks. We don’t have reports of what species of sharks may have been responsible, but the area is home to great white sharks and tiger sharks. Both species have been reported as attacking humans.