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 in difficult conditions
After 20 days of waiting for favourable weather, Altıntaş and Öz set off from South Papohaku Beach on the evening of 17 May.
“We waited in Hawaii for 20 days for this moment,” Öz told the Anadolu Agency (AA). “When a small weather window opened between two storms, we decided to take the chance together.”
However, after 21 kilometres, during a food break, nature struck. First, an octopus attacked Altıntaş, and just seconds later, a cookiecutter shark attacked. Öz suffered a deep wound to his hip, while Altıntaş was unharmed. The support team immediately took both to 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, emphasised the favourable conditions: “The east wind provided good thrust, and the current wasn’t too strong either. Without this incident, they would certainly have 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 of completing the “Oceans Seven” challenge, the seven toughest open-water channels, remains. In September 2023, they had already successfully swum the 32.3-kilometre Catalina Channel off Southern California in 13 hours and 4 minutes. Despite the setback, their ambition remains undiminished.
