Woman dies after shark attack at beach near Waihī
Thursday, 7 January 2021
Witnesses have described harrowing scenes at a Bowentown beach, near Waihī, in western Bay of Plenty, after a shark attacked a woman while she was swimming.
Despite emergency services performing vigorous CPR on the victim, who was in her early 20s, she died at the scene.
A rāhui has been placed around the area by local iwi as whānau gathered to mourn at a Coastguard building at the Bowentown end of Waihī Beach on Thursday night, where the victim’s body was believed to be laying.
As the night came to a close, a group of locals and holidaymakers lit candles and had drinks in memory of the victim on the beach itself.
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AS IT HAPPENED
Emergency services were called to the beach about 5.10pm on Thursday after reports of a woman being injured in the water.
Police said initial indications suggested she may have been injured by a shark. The victim was believed to have had bite wounds to at least one of her legs.
Witness Elliot Hall said a local resident told him the victim was swimming just past the waves when she started screaming.
Lifeguards were quickly at the scene, and pulled the woman out of the water.
Hall arrived when paramedics had turned up, and wondered what was going on. He said he watched paramedics perform CPR on the woman for more than 20 minutes as family and friends gathered around her.
Another witness, Tadhg Stopford, said a man and a woman next to the victim appeared to be in “shocked distress” as an IV went into her and vigorous CPR continued to be applied.
Despite efforts, the woman was not able to be revived.
Stopford said after the CPR stopped, the pair’s shock deepened and the man walked into the sea, where he stayed for several minutes. “I felt … his loss,” Stopford said.
The victim’s death will be referred to the coroner.
‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’
Mark Wilson, a local resident, was swimming at the beach on Thursday afternoon when he was told to evacuate the water.
Wilson said he did not realise something serious was unfolding until he witnessed a rescue helicopter land on the beach.
He said he sees sharks in the area frequently, and it was only matter of time before an incident happened. He believed the shark involved to be a white pointer shark (great white).
About 8.30pm Thursday, Wilson and a group of others lit candles on the beach in memory of the victim, who they did not know.
“It could have been any of us, so we just thought we'd have a drink for the person involved.”
TIMELINE
Catrin Owen, a Stuff reporter who was at the scene, said the car park at the Bowentown end of Waihī Beach was cordoned off about 6pm Thursday.
About 6.30pm, emergency services personnel had gathered in front of the Waihī Beach Coastguard.
What appeared to be friends and family of the woman who died emerged from the Coastguard building about 6.35pm, and a kaumātua appeared to speak to them afterwards.
A karakia was said to acknowledge the deceased and emergency service personnel who assisted at the scene; including St John Ambulance, Fire and Emergency New Zealand, police and surf life savers.
About 6.50pm, emergency services started to leave the site. Those who had gathered earlier went back into the Coastguard building after the karakia.
The cordon was lifted about 9.15pm, after a rāhui had been placed around the area by local iwi.
On Thursday night, people could be seen scattering what appeared to be water droplets down the pathway to the beach as a blessing.
Several family members remained at the Coastguard building about 9.30pm, where it’s believed the victim’s body was laying.
‘JUST SO TRAGIC’
Kina Scollay, a founding member of New Zealand's Great White Shark Project, said news of the attack was “absolutely terrible”.
“It’s a very rare thing. There’s plenty of sharks in the ocean not hunting people, it doesn’t happen very often.”
Scollay said at this time of year at Waihī Beach, there generally were a lot of sharks around the shallows, but they were almost exclusively sharks that were not likely to hurt people.
White sharks were also around coastlines at this time of year, he said.
“It is unusual. At this time of year thousands of people are swimming off that area. In general, you shouldn’t have to worry about sharks.
“It’s just so tragic. My thoughts are with the woman’s family.”
Waihī Beach is a coastal town with a population of about 2700 people. The main beach is 10 kilometres long, making it a popular spot for holidaymakers.
SHARK ATTACKS IN NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand’s last fatal shark attack was in 2013.
When swimming at Muriwai Beach in west Auckland, filmmaker Adam Hunter Strange, 47, was killed while swimming after being attacked by a number of sharks while training for a race.
In 2009, a capsized kayaker was apparently bitten by a great white shark in Whangamata, just north of Waihī Beach at the base of the Coromandel peninsula.
There have been 12 fatal shark attacks in New Zealand since the mid-1800s.