Great white shark
A fatal shark attack has left a 39-year-old woman dead in South Africa.

Beaches have been shut around Plettenberg Bay on South Africa's southern Cape coastline following the shocking killing on Sunday morning.

The woman, believed to be visiting from Cape Town, was taking an early-morning dip in shallow waters to celebrate a Bank Holiday weekend when she was attacked.

In a sudden move, the deadly predator came in fast from deep water and grabbed her in its jaws in front of terrified fellow swimmers.

The woman, who was on the edge of the group, let out a scream as the shark bit into her flesh and dragged her underwater.

Screaming swimmers and surfers rushed to safety as the water quickly emptied.


It is the second deadly shark attack in the small town since late June.


An eyewitness told rescuers: "It was a bit cloudy but there was some sun out and there were quite a few people taking an early dip as the temperature was quite warm.

"Then I just heard lots of screaming and saw people running out of the water. I guessed it was a shark attack but I was quite a way away and then the lifeboat turned up.

"I then heard a woman had been attacked while swimming only two or three waves out so it was quite shallow but it was said nothing could be done to help her," she said.

A spokesman for South Africa's National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Craig Lambinon said local NSRI and South Africa Police Service (SAPS) units were scrambled at around 7.53am local time (6.53am BST).

They discovered the woman's blood-soaked body around 50 feet from the shore.

"The sea rescue craft Eric Stratford was launched," Craig said. "On arrival at the scene, the body of a believed to be 39-year-old female from Cape Town was recovered from the water and brought to the beach."

An inquest has been opened by police and the unnamed woman's body is in the care of the Western Cape Government Health and Forensic Pathology Services.

The public has been urged to be careful along the Plettenberg Bay and Southern Cape coastline.

Bitou Municipality Mayor David Swart said: "We have never had a fatality at Plettenberg until 2011 and now we have had three with two in the last three months.

"We are researching into and looking at putting up a shark barrier and increased warning signage and starting our lifeguard's season a month earlier than usual.

"There seems to be no change in the shark's behaviour in this area so it is a bit of a mystery why we have had three fatal attacks in such a short space of time."

It comes just days after the NCRI and Bitou Municipality both issued a warning due to increasing shark activity from the animals feeding on humpback whale carcasses washing ashore.

On June 28 this year, swimmer Bruce Wolov was killed by a shark at Plettenberg Bay's Sanctuary Beach.

At the time, Mayor Swart said the community did its "utmost to ensure the safety of its residents and visitors and is extremely saddened when tragic events beyond its control happen".

He added: "While Plettenberg Bay is renowned for its natural beauty, both on land and in the sea, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we are visitors in nature and need to exercise caution when out in the natural environment.

"We urge all participants in water activities at sea to exercise caution, be aware of their surroundings and to heed any warnings from anyone in a position of authority."

South Africa has seen 37 fatal shark attacks in the past 25 years, and shark activity between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town increases over the winter during the annual sardine run - an important source of food for the creatures at this time of year.

In 2011, local carpenter and keen surfer Tim Van Heerden was fatally attacked by a great white shark while he waited to catch a wave.

The creature bit him twice as it knocked him into the sea, severing the femoral artery.

A South African shark expert, who asked not to be named, said: "You have to remember the ocean has always been the territory of the shark - they rule.

"There are more and more people in the water these days what with surfing and paddle boarding and swimming and the sharks are always never very far away.

"But they are not seeking out humans and attacks are rare and usually not intended as they mistake humans for prey but the results are often fatal.

"You have 47 times more chance of being killed by lightning or 11 times more chance of being killed by fireworks than being killed by a shark. Wrong place wrong time," he said.