Soon after, fear overtook her, and Vitonova began to cry, concerned about the possibility of blood poisoning.
Her companion, fellow influencer Isabelle Zagfarova, tried to console her, noting the severity of the bleeding.
In response to Vitonova’s concern about blood poisoning, Zagfarova reassured her: “No, no, no, with sharks, the most important thing is that they don’t bite your finger off.
“Nastya, don’t worry. You won’t get a blood infection.”
The tour guide quickly transported the two women to the nearest island for medical attention.
At the hospital, Vitonova’s hand was disinfected and stitched up.
Later, she recounted the ordeal on camera, explaining that she had been swimming among the sharks when the attack happened.
She described: “A couple of seconds later, a shark bit my hand.
“It held me for two or three seconds, and all the worst scenarios started running through my head.
“I immediately swam to the boat and did everything with a cool head, despite the panic inside.
“I had a smile and laughter for the first five minutes, but it was hysteria and a defensive reaction.”
Vitonova mentioned that the shark bite reached the bone, but her hand is recovering.
Remarkably, similar occurrences have taken place in the Maldives before.
Elena Boyko, aged 44, recounted her own experience of being bitten while a guide encouraged her to swim closer to sharks during her holiday in the Maldives.
Part of a group of 12 on a ‘swim with sharks’ excursion, she shared how the guide pushed her towards the sharks for pictures, resulting in the bite.
The Russian news outlet SHOT reported: “The Russian woman said that she did not panic and calmly bandaged her hand so as not to frighten the other vacationers.”
These shark encounters are thought to involve nurse sharks.
In the Maldives, tourists commonly encounter nurse sharks, along with reef sharks, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, tiger, and bull sharks.
