A swimmer has been killed in a shark attack in South Africa, forcing officials to temporarily close a popular beach.
Early reports say a woman, 65, was attacked and killed off Orient Beach in KuGompo City in the Eastern Cape of South Africa on Tuesday morning. The woman was swimming with a group after 8am (6am GMT) when she indicated she was in trouble.
“We all realised she’d been bitten by a shark and she was in a very bad way,” a witness told local media. “The bites were very severe, but there were only two, one on her thigh and one on her upper arm.”
The woman was brought back to shore and pronounced dead on the beach.
Shark attack forces Orient Beach to close
A warning from Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality on social media said Orient Beach and Eastern Beach have been closed until further notice, following a “serious incident”.
“Beachgoers are urged to exercise extreme caution and to refrain from entering the water at the affected beaches,” the Facebook post said.
“Warnings are also being issued at other beaches, and members of the public are requested to remain vigilant, adhere to all safety advisories, and comply with instructions issued by the relevant authorities.
“It has been confirmed that a shark attack occurred at Orient Beach this morning, and this resulted in a tragic incident. Relevant authorities are onsite handling the matter accordingly.”
According to reports, the victim was taken to the State Forensic Pathology Services.
Her name will be released once her family has been informed.
Shark attacks in South Africa
This isn’t the first time sharks have killed a person off the coast of South Africa.
In September 2022, authorities were alerted to reports of an incident just before 8am local time (7am BST) and launched a rescue mission at sea.
The body of a woman, believed to have been 39-years-old and from Cape Town, was found in the water off the southern coastline.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) urged members of the public to be cautious along the coastline running along Plettenberg Bay to Southern Cape.
It said at the time of the incident: “At this moment there seems to be more shark activities in our beaches. This is very unusual when compared with previous years.”
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