Yasemin Altıntaş and Murat Öz, two Turkish long-distance swimmers who represent their country in international competitions, were attacked by a shark while attempting to cross the Kaiwi Channel off the coast of Hawaii.
A Risky Start Under Difficult Conditions
After 20 days of waiting for favorable weather, Altıntaş and Öz started on the evening of May 17 from South Papohaku Beach. "We waited 20 days in Hawaii for this moment," Öz told the news agency Anadolu (AA). "When a small weather window opened between two storms, we decided to take the chance together."
But after 21 kilometers, during a meal break, nature struck. First, an octopus attacked Altıntaş, and just seconds later, a Cookiecutter Shark attacked. Öz suffered a deep wound on his hip, while Altıntaş remained uninjured. The support team immediately took both to a hospital.
25) Hawaii açıklarında yüzen iki Türk yüzücüyü ISIRAN KÖPEK BALIĞI bu. ( Yasemin Altıntaş ve Murat Öz, 45 kilometrelik Molokai Kanalını yüzerek geçmeye çalışıyordu.) Köpek balığı, erkek yüzücü bel bölgesinden ısırdı. Kadın yüzücü ise bu saldırıdan yara almadan kurtuldu.… pic.twitter.com/NUEXu5CNjA
— Nevzat Basım (@Nevzatb) May 20, 2025
Consequences And Looking Ahead
Michael Twigg-Smith, pilot of the technical team, emphasized the favorable conditions: "The east wind provided good push, and the current was not too strong either. Without this incident, they would have certainly successfully crossed the channel." Due to the "dramatic" events, authorities have temporarily banned night swimming in the Kaiwi Channel.
The swimmers are stable and on their way back to Turkey. Their goal to complete the"Oceans Seven"challenge, consisting of the seven most difficult open water channels, remains unchanged. In September 2023, they had already successfully swum the 32.3-kilometer-long Catalina Channel off Southern California in 13 hours and 4 minutes. Despite the setback, their determination remains unbroken.
