Woman killed in shark attack off South Africa coast

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 02:32 · Archive

A 65-year-old woman has been killed in a shark attack at Orient Beach in South Africa's Eastern Cape.

A 65-year-old woman was killed in a shark attack at Orient Beach in KuGompo city on Tuesday morning, off South Africa's southeastern coast. Officers found her body after being called to the scene. Fellow swimmers from an open-water swimming group responded to the woman's distress signal and brought her ashore, where a medic attempted to save her, but she was declared dead at the scene.

Mike Loewe, a fellow swimmer, described the victim as a recently retired nuclear radiographer and musician who liked to swim solo. He said her death had devastated the local swimming community. The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality closed both Orient Beach and nearby Eastern Beach until further notice.

Shark attacks are rare in South Africa, despite the country being known for great white sharks and shark tourism. According to municipal records, this was the city's first fatal shark attack since 1997, with the most recent reported attack occurring in 2023.

How it is being reported

• Shark kills woman swimming off South Africa's coastA South African woman has been killed by a shark while taking an early morning swim off the country's southeast coast.The West Australian · 21 Oct, 02:06
• Shark kills woman swimming off South Africa's coastA South African woman has been killed by a shark while taking an early morning swim off the country's southeast coast.Perth Now · 21 Oct, 02:06

In this story: South Africa · Orient Beach · Eastern Cape · KuGompo · Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality · Mike Loewe

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem