Teen Girl Killed by Shark While Swimming With Dolphins in River
A 16-year-old girl was killed by a shark when she jumped into the water to swim with a pod of dolphins in Perth, Australia.
Local reports say the teenager was jet-skiing with friends on the Swan River on Saturday afternoon.
Eyewitnesses also told The West Australian that a heroic man jumped into the river to try and save the teenager.
Acting Fremantle District Inspector Paul Robinson told WA Today that it was the first fatal shark mauling on the river in a century.
“It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries,” he said.
Robinson said the girl’s family were not present at the time and were “absolutely devastated by the news”.
“However her friends were and as you can imagine this is an extremely traumatic incident for anyone to witness so obviously, we’re offering counseling services to anyone who did witness it or is affected by the incident,” he said.
The only confirmed fatal attack in the Swan River occurred on January 31, 1923, when 13-year-old Charles Robinson was killed after he was attacked while swimming close to the shore.
However, Perth man Cameron Wrathall was bitten on the leg on Jan. 14, 2021 in the Swan River at Bicton’s Blackwall Reach, making him the first person to be attacked by a shark in the river since 1968.
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