Second tourist dies at same spot off Réunion Island as tragic Edinburgh shark 'attack' victim Richard Turner

Mr Turner, a land registry worker from Saughton, vanished while snorkelling in the Indian Ocean during a holiday with wife Verity, 40
Richard Martyn TurnerRichard Martyn Turner
Richard Martyn Turner

A SECOND man has died at the same island spot where it is feared an Edinburgh holidaymaker was eaten by a shark.

Local lawyer Olivier Angelloz’s drow­ning on Reunion boosted the theory that Richard Turner, 44, may have gotten into difficulties and died before the predator devoured his hand.

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His limb, still with his wedding ring on, was later found inside a tiger shark caught off the paradise isle.

But police probing the death of Mr Angelloz, 51, in the same lagoon today said he had “got into difficulties”.

A source said: “Two fit men, both excellent swimmers, have died there in a week.”

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Another added: “Mr Angelloz’s tragic death supports the belief that the lagoon is not as safe as the authorities say it is.”

“It looks like Mr Turner drowned then his body was swept out to sea, where the shark ate it.”

Mr Turner’s rem­ains have not been found.

DNA tests have confirmed the hand belonged to Mr Turner but forensics officers are still unable to say whether a shark caused his death or whether he drowned before being eaten.

A spokesman for the local search and rescue crew said: “It is not clear whether he was attacked or was already dead when he was eaten.

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“One possibility is that he became unwell while in the lagoon and was taken by the currents into deeper water.”

US-based expert Dr Craig O’Connell said tiger sharks are known scavengers.

He told the Sun newspaper: “Reunion has now become a high-risk location for shark encounters.

“There is no evidence this tiger shark attacked the Scot and it is possible it fulfilled the ‘scavenger role’ post-mortem.”

“Tiger sharks can be relentless scavengers.”

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