A Canadian tourist died and another was injured on Thursday after being attacked by an animal while swimming in Ixtapa, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

Local authorities have not yet determined whether it was a shark or a crocodile, although both versions are circulating.

According to the report from the Emergency Attention Center of the Secretariat of Integral Risk Management and Civil Protection of the Costa Grande region, the incident occurred a few minutes after 9:00 a.m. local time (3:00 p.m. GMT) on the beach of Club Med. hotel, located in the second hotel section of Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo.

“A man with a leg amputated due to a shark bite is treated and first aid is provided,” says the report on the incident in the Mexican Pacific.

Despite medical treatment, the man, originally from Canada, died due to the extent of the injuries to one of his legs. He was identified as Joseph Bynens, 76 years old.

The municipal president, Jorge Sánchez Alec, reported in statements to the media that, during this same event, a woman was injured, the romantic companion of the deceased man, who is stable, according to the latest medical reports.

He added that marine biologists expressed a high probability that the attack was caused by a crocodile.

However, he clarified that a bacteriological analysis is underway to determine what happened, which he announced will be reported this Friday.

After the attack, an operation was deployed with Civil Protection agents and the Secretary of the Navy to locate and capture the animal responsible.

Near Quieta Beach, in the Mexican Pacific and touted as inclusive for people with disabilities, there is a crocodile farm that the mayor says has been beefed up in terms of security.

Recently, the presence of a crocodile alerted tourists on El Palma beach in Ixtapa, without this happening to adults.

In previous years, specimens have also been observed on La Ropa beach in Zihuatanejo, where there is also a smaller estuary.

Meanwhile, shark attacks have also been recorded on the beaches of the Costa Grande: in 2019, an American tourist was the victim of an attack in Troncones, municipality of La Unión, adjacent to Zihuatanejo.

Previously, in 2008, a series of attacks were recorded between La Unión and Ixtapa, leaving two dead, a tourist and a local, as well as one injured and one missing.

This area of ​​the Costa Grande de Guerrero is the one that attracts the greatest number of foreign tourists during the cold season, where they take refuge for its warmth.