Shark victim caught in rip
A woman killed by a shark was pulled out by a rip before the fatal attack, says a woman swimming nearby.
Surf life savers and emergency services at the Bowentown end of Waihı¯ Beach tried unsuccessfully to save the woman after she was brought to shore on Thursday evening.
It is understood the woman was in her early 20s and had bite wounds to at least one of her legs.
Yesterday afternoon, another shark sighting closed the beach.
Amanda Gould was 5 metres away from the woman and her friends before Thursday’s incident. A strong rip pulled the woman out to deep water, she said – ‘‘really far out, beyond where the surfers would sit’’.
Gould was swimming waist-deep with her husband and two boys, aged 8 and 10, but went back to shore after feeling uncomfortable in the rip. That was when the horror unfolded.
‘‘No-one saw her waving out but I did hear a scream.
‘‘You could tell she was struggling because there is no way she would go that far out.’’
Lifeguards went out in rough conditions, which pushed the rescue boat back as they tried to launch.
Gould did not realise a shark was around until the victim was brought to shore – she had thought a second person was in the water.
‘‘The lifeguard said: no, that is a shark, we need to get people out of the water.
‘‘So I was watching the shark’s fin go around, not another person,’’ Gould said.
Stuff understands the shark involved was a white pointer (great white).
Despite vigorous resuscitation attempts, the woman died at the scene.
‘‘It was shocking, surreal and we were all a bit freaked out ... It keeps playing on my mind.’’ Gould said.
‘‘I am really sad for the girl and I feel for the family. It is so shocking that someone’s life can be taken away just by that one event. One minute she is swimming and the next she is pulled out and then that happened.’’
Tadhg Stopford was also on the beach and saw a man next to the victim walk into the sea after resuscitation work stopped.
He stayed there for several minutes. ‘‘I felt ... his loss.’’
The beach was quiet under a sombre grey sky yesterday. Raindrops pelted the black sand in the early morning, and a coastguard member and police officer could be seen watching the waves break.
Police said they could not confirm the exact cause of the woman’s death but indications were she was injured by a shark. An autopsy was being carried out yesterday, Eastern Waikato area commander Inspector Dean Anderson said.
The woman’s name would be released after consultation with her family, Anderson said. ‘‘We appreciate her death was extremely traumatic for those who were at Waihı¯ Beach yesterday and we are offering Victim Support services to anyone who requires it.’’
Lifeguards who helped the woman on Thursday were given time off and
Beach-goer Amanda Gould
reinforced by helpers from surrounding clubs. ‘‘They are doing all right,’’ Surf Lifesaving eastern region lifesaving manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell said. ‘‘[We have] taken them off the beach today to give them a break and our support team will be working with them.’’
A fresh group of lifeguards was brought in from around the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty.
A ra¯hui, or temporary prohibition, from Thursday evening originally only covered the collection of shellfish and fishing. But swimming was also ruled out about midday yesterday, GibbonsCampbell said.
Stuff understands a shark was seen in the waters at the Island View area of Waihı¯ beach, about 4 kilometres from where the woman was fatally injured, yesterday afternoon. A source could not confirm if it was the same shark involved in Thursday’s fatal attack.
The ra¯ hui is expected to be enforced until 7am on January 15.
Shark attacks were rare, though there were often shark sightings in the Coromandel and Waihı¯ areas, GibbonsCampbell said. ‘‘The water this year has been really warm [so we have had] lots of reports of people seeing sharks but the actual attacks are really rare and the last one was quite some time ago.’’
‘‘No-one saw her waving out but I did hear a scream.’’