Fatal Incident
Diver Fatally Attacked by Large Shark in Port Moresby Bay
A male diver searching for a coin in Port Moresby Bay, Papua New Guinea, encountered a large shark on March 24, 1939. The attack proved fatal, with the victim sustaining a severe leg injury that proved unsurvivable.
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Incident Profile
Circumstances
Environmental
Individual
Location
Description
On Friday, March 24, 1939, a fatal shark attack occurred in Port Moresby Bay near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The victim, identified as Raho-Heni, was diving in the bay when he was attacked by a large shark. According to available records, the diver had entered the water to retrieve a coin when the shark encounter took place. The attack resulted in catastrophic injury—the victim's leg was severed just below the hip. Despite the severity of the injury, the shark species involved could not be definitively identified from available documentation, though witnesses described it as a "very large shark." The incident occurred during a new moon phase on March 21, 1939. This fatal attack was documented in The Papuan Villager in March 1939 and subsequently recorded in the Global Shark Accident File, serving as a historical record of shark incidents in the waters surrounding Papua New Guinea.