Swiss woman (25) dies after attack "There were two people lying in the sand" - now eyewitnesses speak about the fatal shark attack
New findings on the fatal shark attack on a Swiss couple in Australia: The 25-year-old woman was filming a group of dolphins shortly beforehand. Then a bull shark attacked - her partner fought desperately for her life.
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- New witness statements describe the chaotic minutes on Kylie's Beach.
- The 25-year-old Swiss woman lost her left arm in an attack by a bull shark and died despite immediate help.
- Her partner (26) was bitten several times during the rescue attempt; a passer-by probably saved his life with an improvised pressure bandage.
The fatal shark attack on a Swiss couple at Kylie's Beach in the Australian state of New South Wales is taking on ever clearer contours. According to several local media reports, the woman who died was a 25-year-old Swiss woman who had recently completed her master's degree. Her partner, a 26-year-old diving instructor, was battling a bull shark in the water - and desperately trying to save her.
The couple had gone swimming in unsupervised waters shortly after dawn. According to the police, the woman filmed a group of dolphins with a GoPro camera just a few minutes before the attack. Shortly afterwards, a bull shark around three meters long attacked.
The young woman was bitten several times and lost her left arm. Her boyfriend, who was initially outside the immediate danger zone, noticed that she was no longer swimming back - and returned to the water. He was also bitten twice on the leg.
Chaotic scenes on site
Despite the injuries, he managed to swim around 50 meters through the surf to the beach with the seriously injured woman. All help came too late for the 25-year-old, who died on the spot.
According to the TV station "Mid-North Coast News", several eyewitnesses reported a chaotic, desperate rescue attempt.
A camper named Kevin told the station: "I went down to the beach and saw paramedics working on a person - and someone else was lying in the sand a little further away."
Another witness, Robert, was on his morning walk when he saw the scene. "One person was lying on the ground, another was bending over them, and a third man was walking around frantically," he said.
After the Swiss man got his partner onto the beach, he ran towards the dunes to look for help. A woman in her forties noticed him and immediately called the emergency services. The emergency call center instructed her to put a makeshift tourniquet around his leg with her own swimsuit - a measure that the authorities later said probably saved the man's life.
GoPro was seized
Paramedics stabilized the man on the beach before he was flown to hospital by helicopter. Despite immediate assistance, the 25-year-old could not be resuscitated.
It is unclear whether the GoPro footage shows the attack itself. The police have seized the device and are analyzing its contents. A report for the coroner's office has been announced.
The remote Kylie's Beach is considered a shark hotspot by locals. The beach is not monitored; warning systems and shark detectors are located over 30 kilometers away. After the attack, authorities searched for the animal using drones and so-called drumlines - so far without success.
Just three months ago, there was another fatal attack in the same region.
