Feb. 3 (UPI) — A teenage girl was killed Monday in a shark attack in Queensland, Australia.
The 17-year-old suffered a “serious shark bite” at Woorim Beach, just north of Brisbane, at 4:45 p.m. local time, Queensland Ambulance Service wrote in a post on X. The girl, who was identified as Charlize Zmuda, was pronounced dead at the scene about 15 minutes later.
“What happened on Woorim Beach at Bribie Island is devastating,” the Premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, wrote in a post on X.
“For someone so young to lose their life in a shark attack is an unimaginable tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and Bribie community. Thank you to our first responders who were on the scene,” Crisafulli added.
According to witnesses, Zmuda — who had competed in the Lifesaving World Championships — was swimming in an unpatrolled section of the popular surfing beach approximately 100 yards from shore, when she was bitten on her arm. Paramedics confirmed she suffered life-threatening injuries to her upper body.
“There are a lot of swimming groups that swim along here, morning and afternoon. It’s known there are a lot of sharks around Bribie, but this close to shore, it’s still a shock,” Christopher Potter, who arrived at the beach shortly after the attack, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Drumlines in the waters where the attack took place are used to bait and catch sharks, which are then relocated or euthanized.
This is the second deadly shark attack in Australian waters this year. Last month, Lance Appleby, 28, was killed while surfing on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, according to witnesses. His body was not found.
On Tuesday, Zmuda’s grief-stricken father told reporters he is devastated.
“When I got the tragic news yesterday, I was extremely gutted, but something that my wife and I want to say is we don’t want people to stop coming to the beach and enjoying our beach,” Steve Zmuda said.
“It’s a big part of our lives.”
