A South African lady has been killed in a shark attack off the nation’s east coast, in what is the first recorded such fatality this yr.
Janine Lochrenberg was swimming off a seashore in KuGompo City (previously East London) on Tuesday morning when she was attacked.
Witnesses said the 65-year-old was bitten in two locations and died before she was introduced to shore.
Shark attacks are uncommon in South Africa, with about 10 deadly ones since 2012, according to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File.
Lochrenberg was out on a day by day morning swim with her native open water swimming membership when she was attacked at around 08:00 (06:00 GMT). Fellow swimmers introduced her to shore, but it’s believed she died before they could get her out of the water.
She was bitten on her thigh and her higher arm, one of her fellow swimmers informed the BBC. They also said she had been carrying a magnetic shark repellent band on her ankle at the time.
Lochrenberg’s sister Margot said she was holding her sister’s head as they introduced her to shore but believed she bled out in the water.
She informed the BBC that her sister had “loved the water so much” despite figuring out there was an “elevated shark presence in East London”.
“She’d made peace with that. She had a deep affinity with the water and was a remarkable person,” she said.
Barbara Briceland, Lochrenberg’s companion, informed the BBC the retired medical physicist was a good swimmer, who usually swam far out into the breakers, and described her as very courageous.
“She was highly intelligent, lots of fun, kind, in a quietish way, thoughtful, well-loved with a love of life.”
Briceland added they were wanting ahead to retirement and were about to go away for a three-week highway journey collectively.
Orient Beach, where the attack took place, has been closed alongside another close by seashore, authorities confirmed.
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