Surfing girl, 17, killed by a shark in front of her parents
A TEENAGER has died after being mauled by a shark as she surfed with her father while her horrified mother and sisters looked on.
Laeticia Brouwer, 17, lost a leg in the attack in Australia and was bleeding heavily when pulled from the water.
Her father Leon tried desperately to save her by using a surfboard leash as a tourniquet.
His wife Julie and two younger daughters had been watching from the beach when they saw her disappear under the waves.
Laeticia’s parents and an off-duty nurse also performed CPR until paramedics arrived 20 minutes later but the teenager died in hospital from severe blood loss.
Acting Senior Sergeant Ben Jeffes said: ‘Father and daughter were surfing out where the waves were breaking and that’s where the attack occurred. The father obviously tried everything he could to save his daughter
‘He’s brought her to shore and then the family contacted emergency services.’
The West Australian newspaper said Mr Brouwer ‘heard her scream before she was pulled under water by the shark.
‘When she resurfaced, her father paddled over and dragged her to the shore with the help of another teenager.’
Yesterday the grieving family of the teenager known affectionately as Teesh hugged each other for comfort as her uncle Steve Evans paid tribute.
With their arms wrapped around one another, the family from the small town of Singleton, near Perth, listened with their heads bowed. In a choking voice, Mr Evans said: ‘Laeticia will be greatly missed by her family, friends and everyone who knew her.
‘We can take some comfort that she died doing something that she loved. The ocean was her, and her family’s passion.
‘Surfing was something that she treasured doing with her dad and her sisters.’
Described by locals as a perfect family, they had been on holiday when Laeticia and her father went surfing at Wylie Bay near Esperance on Monday afternoon. Russell Adams, of the Fisheries Department, said patrols were being carried out in the area off the coast yesterday.
‘Since 2000, all fatal attacks in Western Australia have been caused by great whites so you could assume safely it was a great white but we can’t say for sure,’ he added.
According to the government website Shark Smart WA, a medium-sized great white had been seen in the area twice during the past week. The teenager’s broken surfboard was reportedly being examined to confirm the species.
Paramedic Paul Gaughan said the incident was traumatic for everyone and that Laeticia’s injuries were just too severe for her to be saved.
She was the 11th victim of a fatal shark attack since 2010, leading legendary Australian shark expert Vic Hislop to call last night for a cull.
He said the feared predators were ‘breeding like flies’ along the southern coast.
In 2014, a 23-year-old man lost both hands after a shark attack in the same area.
‘Tried everything to save her’