Woman Killed in Shark Attack in U.S. Virgin Islands

A Minnesota woman died after her arm was ripped clean off in a suspected shark attack off the coast of St. Croix in the Caribbean Sea.

According to the Virgin Islands Police Department, officers responded to a call about a woman who had presumably been bitten by a shark around 4:30 PM Thursday near Dorsch Beach on St. Croix.

Fire, marine units and EMS arrived on scene ...where they found the woman, already missing an arm. They searched for an additional reported victim but found no one.

The woman later died from her injuries ... and her next of kin identified her as Arlene Lillis, a woman from Minnesota.

Christopher Carroll -- a vacationer with a background in nursing and as a lifeguard -- told The Virgin Island Consortium he heard Lillis' screams from his hotel room and rushed to help her ... pulling her from the water with the help of other bystanders.

Carroll told the outlet Lillis was missing her left arm to the elbow ... and all the flesh from elbow to shoulder had been stripped away -- revealing the humerus bone underneath.

Lillis was 56.