Woman killed in shark attack

[laurie1681]

January 08, 2006
awful...

A WOMAN in her early 20s has died after a horrific shark attack off North Stradbroke Island, east of Brisbane late yesterday.

The woman lost both arms and suffered severe wounds to her torso and legs in the savage attack at Amity Point about 5pm.
A rescue helicopter rushed her to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital but surgeons could not save her.

It is believed the woman was holidaying from Brisbane. Last night, police were trying to contact her family.

Emergency Services Rescue Helicopter crew officer Rod Morgan said the woman had suffered massive blood loss.

"She was very pale" he said.


Advertisement:
"We were diverted right away and were able to be on the scene within minutes and were able to have the patient at hospital within an hour of the attack."
Several distraught witnesses were being interviewed by police at Amity Point last night.

A local woman, who didn't want to be identified, said the victim arrived on the island only yesterday.

She said the victim was swimming with her border collie when the attack happened and the dog ran home to raise the alarm.

"I was across the road from where she was staying and I saw the dog come flying up the road all wet and shivering and whimpering," she said.

"Then a little boy came running up and said the girl had lost her leg and her arm and everyone ran out of the house towards the beach."

She said the frenzied dog had to be restrained.

"It was just a little black-and-white dog but he was crazy so I locked him under the house," she said.

Suzanne Deed, owner of the Amity Bungalows, which are a short distance away from Flinders Beach where the attack happened, said: "As she was dragged out of the water a friend or relative of the girl was crying, 'She's only 21, she's only 21'. My daughter saw the whole thing. She was swimming in the water and she was actually farther out than the girl who was attacked.

"Somebody came running down the beach shouting, 'Shark!' and the next thing my daughter saw the girl being dragged out of the water.

"She wasn't very far out - there are lots of dolphins there and people like to swim with them. We've never had a shark attack.

"There were quite a few people on the beach who saw what happened. I've been told by people who were there that it was a tiger shark."

Amity Point fisherman Miles Scott confirmed other people were in the water at the time of the attack.

"A couple of people were down there, swimming around her about 50m from her," he said.

"A shark just came in and attacked her. They just saw her struggling."

Mr Scott, owner of Fresh Local Seafood at Amity Point, said locals had long been concerned about sharks.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time. We've always thought someone was going to be taken here.

"I'm a crabber and at this time of the year massive bull sharks come over the bar.

"It's nothing to see 10 or a dozen bull sharks under our boat when we are crabbing and they are really aggressive - they are not like normal sharks."

Rod Farrell, who owns Amity Point Waterfront Cabins, just 100m from the attack site, said the woman who raised the alarm was staying in one of his cabins.

"She ran up and down the beach screaming at people to get out of the water, and was on the mobile to Triple-0," Mr Farrell said. "She was pretty hysterical."

Mr Farrell said he believed the victim was swimming in a channel that locals avoided because they feared shark attacks.

"We're forever telling little ones and tourists not to swim late in the afternoon or at night, especially in the summer," he said.

Amity Point resident of 20 years Brad Ross said tourists had been warned about the area.

"The shore just falls away into 30m of water and there are plenty of bull sharks out there," Mr Ross said.

"People know when they enter the water there they're stepping into a shark habitat."

Other beaches on the island are protected by drum lines.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...5-1248,00.html

[Matt23v2]

Sounds like the work of a pack of Bull sharks

[Greatwhite70]

From all initial accounts the attacks were Bull.
These sharks are known in this area and at this time of year.

[Matt23v2]

Shark Fever has well and truely hit Australia, the weekends tragic incident hightened awareness, There are sharks of all species being spotted all up the east coast of Australia
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=68902

[Greatwhite70]

Yes the crazy thing as the summer of the shark in the U.S, news crews were reporting shark spottings. They have always been there in and around us and in most cases nothing happens. It is this myth that they will hunt us or are switching food sources. Shark attacks will always generate interest as it is one of those dark fears that haunts the back of the mind.

[hund7]

just a few days after this attack quoted from here:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117....html?from=rss

"Shark attacks diver at beach
From: AAP
January 15, 2006

A SCUBA diver has been attacked by a white pointer off a Perth beach, as the occupants of a nearby boat tried to warn the man that a shark was in the water.

Brian Williams, 52, of the northern Perth beachside suburb of Sorrento, was bitten on the left elbow after the shark grabbed him from behind as he was scuba diving about 3km offshore from City Beach.
He fought off the animal by hitting him with a spear gun.

His injuries were not life threatening, police and the Fisheries department said.

The predator was believed to be a three to 3.5 metre white pointer.

He was recovering in a Perth hospital after the attack, which happened about 11am (WST) today."

this artical did not say that the attack went on for the best part of 10 minutes (i saw this on the tv news on the night of the attack)... thats a long time to have a gw shark circling you. must have seemed like hours.

then in the same part of the west coast of australia big momma was seen... quoted from here:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117....html?from=rss

"Shark sighting closes beaches
From: AAP
January 17, 2006

A PERTH beach has been reopened despite the sighting of a six-metre shark.

But two other nearby beaches remain closed following the sighting, which comes just three days after a scuba diver survived a white pointer attack at a fourth beach.
An aerial shark patrol spotted the six-metre shark at 6.30am (WST) today, about 200m off popular Mullaloo beach, in northern Perth.

The patrol plane then warned the swimmers, a West Australian Fisheries spokesman said.

"It spotted what they estimated to be a six metre shark just off Mullaloo beach and they put their siren on to warn swimmers," he said.

The plane kept the shark in sight until it disappeared into seagrass."

thats a big shark....

btw, i live in queensland not too far away from the amity point attack (re: fisrt post in this thread). what the news said on tv on the night of the attack was that it is three bull sharks which all attacked the poor girl at the same time... it was a pretty fast attack. she was just one of many people in the water at the time. she was in chest high water at the time. she screemed out "shark" but those near her thought that she was making a joke, or had seen the dolphins and thought they were sharks... she lived at least an hour after the attack... i personaly an not think of a worse way to die, besides perhaps being burned to death.

all of queensland was in shock for a few days after that.

edit: just wanted to point out that 6 metres is about 19.5 feet...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 21, 2006 12:23 PM: Message edited by: hund7 ]</font>

[Greatwhite70]

Shark attacks are never a pleasant experience.
The fear of them is in the top 5 worst fears for people. The problem is this, most people react as if the victim was attacked in a malicious premeditated way.

Sharks hunt and need to kill to survive, if you witnessed the damage done to seals it is pretty horrific the damage that is inflicted. Nature is a violent reality, where people take the attack as personal. You would not walk across the plains of africa where lions prey. Yet we choose on a regular basis to enter the ocean which is not our normal enviroment and one we are not adept at. Then a Shark attacks someone, we expect to kill the offending animal, because we choose to believe that the animal is a rogue and will continue to prey on humans. We go out kill a couple of sharks, none of which would have been the one. As an intelligent race we sure do stupid things!

The reality is enter the water and you assume a level of risk. We need to have better research and shark spotters in place.

Understanding the species that use our coastlines and what drives them to our shore when and why would also reduce the risks.
Sharks hunt and at certain times of the year sharks prey items travel close to our shores.


The knowledge of how and when these predations take place will help reduce attacks.

Also not swimming near river mouths, alone, wearing jewelry, near seals, dawn & dusk, with your pet. Can reduce the chance even further.

Thanks for posting always good to hear from locals as opposed to the media hype!