Scuba Diver Killed by Oceanic Whitetips at Cane Bay

This case is scientifically and historically significant for multiple reasons: the fatal attack by oceanic whitetip sharks occurred at an extreme depth of approximately 270–300 feet during a scuba dive, the firsthand account by survivor Bret Gilliam provides exceptional archival detail of the attack sequence, and the incident illustrates rare deep-water predatory behaviour by oceanic whitetips — a species typically associated with open-ocean rather than reef-wall encounters at such depths.

On October 14, 1972, a tragic incident unfolded in the waters off Cane Bay, St. Croix, when three scuba divers descended the face of a vertical underwater cliff in the Caribbean Sea. The water temperature was approximately 80°F with visibility around 150 feet at shallower depths. As one diver began ascending due to difficulties, two oceanic whitetip sharks approached from over the drop-off and passed between the remaining two divers, forcing them to separate and descend deeper in search of protection near an embankment. At depths exceeding 280 feet, the situation deteriorated rapidly. The dive buddy, who was positioned ahead, turned to locate his companion and encountered extreme turbulence and silt obscuring the bottom. Through the murk, he could see air bubbles rising and heard what he described as grunting and whining sounds. When he reached his companion, he found him conscious but under active attack, screaming into his mouthpiece while experiencing violent shocks and tugging at his leg areas. Both divers were being pulled deeper by the attacking sharks. Despite attempting a rescue by grabbing his companion's harness and trying to ascend, the dive buddy soon exhausted his air supply at an estimated depth of 300 feet. Unable to access his companion's secondary air supply and becoming hypoxic, he made the difficult decision to inflate his safety vest and ascend alone. His companion, likely having exhausted his primary air supply and unable to switch to his alternate regulator, apparently lost consciousness due to anoxia before being pulled away by the sharks. The dive buddy survived but suffered decompression sickness from his emergency ascent. Extensive search efforts failed to recover the victim's body. This incident remains one of the deepest and most severe shark attacks on record, highlighting the multiple layers of danger inherent in extreme deep diving in tropical shark waters.