Woman killed in shark attack named
TAURANGA: Police have named the victim who died in a shark attack near Waihi as 19yearold Kaelah Marlow.
A beachgoer has described traumatic scenes at Bowentown Beach as surf lifeguards tried valiantly to save the woman, who died from wounds suffered in the attack.
The attack took place just after 5pm on Thursday and emergency services flooded the area soon afterwards.
It is understood the woman was dragged from the water alive and paramedics administered CPR on the beach but could not save her life.
Among those at the beach, near Waihi, on Thursday was Matt Lawry, who recalled how he looked on as they worked to save the woman and told the Herald a man was being comforted by an emergency services member nearby.
“Watching them try to save the young woman without success and seeing the man’s white face was a very traumatic, harrowing experience,” he said.
After CPR efforts stopped, a man walked about 50m to 70m into the sea and began splashing water over himself.
“It was harrowing and I can’t stop thinking about the extreme grief I saw on his face as he left the beach,” Mr Lawry said.
Mr Lawry, of Kaipaki, was holidaying at the Bowentown Beach Holiday Park and said there had been shark sightings close to shore in the past week.
Tadhg Stopford also saw the man walk into the ocean and says he stood there for several minutes.
“His entry into the sea was a challenge, I guess, to the shark who had stolen the life of his loved one . . . With my children around me, I felt his loss,” he said.
The fatal shark attack is only the second recorded in the Bay of Plenty.
More than a century ago — in
March 1875 — a 3yearold boy died.
Local iwi from Otawhiwhi marae imposed a rahui on the area, which finishes on Friday, banning the collection of shellfish, all fishing and swimming at the beach.
Iwi also blessed the area with a karakia.
Trails of people visited the beach to pay their respects to the woman. Several placed floral tributes on the beach.
A postmortem examination was carried out yesterday.
The coroner would ultimately determine the cause of the woman’s death, Eastern Waikato area commander Inspector Dean Anderson said.
“We appreciate her death was extremely traumatic for those who were at Waihi Beach yesterday and we are offering Victim Support services to anyone who requires it,” Insp Anderson said.
The beach initially opened yesterday morning, after local councils signed off the decision not to close it to the public. However, iwi stepped in and instated the rahui, which spans from the north end of Waihi Beach down to Bowentown Heads and to Ongare, Tuapiro and Tanner Point.
Surf Life Saving New Zealand eastern region lifesaving manager Chaz GibbonsCampbell said swimming would be allowed at certain areas of the beach.
Signage would inform the public about where they could swim safely and people were asked to continue to respect the rahui still in force at the Bowentown end of the beach.
Maori warden and Otawhiwhi Marae Trust spokesman Shaan Kingi said the weeklong rahui was appropriate because there was a lot of blood on the beach and in the water.
The area where the woman was attacked was “very tapu” and extra time was needed to allow the blood to be cleared.
More than 15 emergency service responders attended the attack and gathered for karakia with kaumatua from the marae afterwards, Mr Kingi said.
Waihi Maori Warden Tapp Cooper said it was “quite shocking” to learn of the fatal shark attack.
“About 1.30pm I was down here with my grandchildren having a nice little swim. It was a bit overcast, and a bit rough, but it was hot and there were others swimming here as well.”
The sentiments were shared by local man Graeme Rackham, who said the death made you “reflect who you are”.
Hamilton man Kelvin Whiting, his wife Karen and his two children were among those who left bunches of flowers on the beach.
“It’s so sad and tragic. My heart goes out to the young lady’s family. I still can’t believe it. We had a bach for 32 years and what has happened is so close to home. It’s just terribly sad.”
Shark scientist Riley Elliott said it was hard to speculate what species of shark attacked the woman without all the facts at hand.
There had been evidence of juvenile and immature great whites in the area as of last summer, however.
Bronze whalers were more common than great whites in the area but they had not attacked a human in a very long time, he said.
“It’s very uncommon to have shark attacks in New Zealand — in the world in general — especially fatal ones.” — The New Zealand Herald
❛ His entry into the sea was a challenge, I guess, to the shark who had stolen the life of his
loved one