BRISBANE, Australia (9 Jan 2006) -- POLICE believe as many as three bull sharks were responsible for a fatal attack on a Brisbane woman, with at least one shark chasing rescuers as they dragged her mauled body to the shore. Witnesses said the shark continued to savage Sarah Kate Whiley, 21, after she lost both arms in the vicious attack just 20m offshore at a beach on North Stradbroke Island. She is the first person killed by a shark attack at a protected beach in the 44-year history of Queensland's controversial Shark Safety Program. According to police, witnesses thought Ms Whiley was joking when the attack began and she started yelling "shark". She was pronounced dead shortly after being airlifted to Brisbane's Princess Alexander Hospital. Ms Whiley lost both arms below the elbow, was mauled around the torso and also sustained major wounds to one of her legs. Ms Whiley, from the Brisbane suburb of McDowall, went to the Rainbow Channel beach at dusk on Saturday with eight friends from a church group, which was renting a nearby holiday house. A witness to the attack said the victim was about 20m from shore in chest-deep water, 5m out from a cluster of three or four friends. "She started yelling out for help and everybody just stopped and looked around," said Vivienne Holcroft, who watched the tragedy from the beach. "Nobody knew what was happening. There were a lot of dolphins in the water. Then she started screaming again. Her friends rushed towards her. "Another fellow raced into the water. They grabbed her and brought her in and the shark followed along behind them with its fin sticking out of the water." Josiah Tupou was on the beach with his family when he swam out to try to save Ms Whiley. "I heard this girl screaming and I ran out to the water and I just saw her bobbing up and down and calling for help," he told the Nine Network. Relative Ungu Tupou also went to help the victim. "I went to grab her arm and her arm wasn't there." Inspector Peter Harding said Ms Whiley disappeared below the water for several seconds before emerging and screaming "shark". "Of course, people at the time thought she was only joking -- until they saw the blood," he said. Rescuers used towels in a desperate bid to stem the blood flow before Ms Whiley was airlifted to hospital, where she died 90 minutes later. Tara Deed, 14, and her friend Kelly Rush, 17, were among those who gathered around Ms Whiley after she was dragged on to the beach. "People had towels out and whatever, trying to do what they could to help," Tara said. "It was terrible. After she was taken away, everybody stood around hugging. It could have been any one of us in the water." Friends rallied behind the Whiley family yesterday as they mourned their loss. "Sarah was the prettiest girl I ever saw ... she was an excellent swimmer," Ms Whiley's sister Sian said. "She could swim before she could walk." While police claimed two or three sharks were responsible, witnesses reported only one, probably an aggressive bull or tiger shark attracted by fish and crabs, and hidden in murky and deceptively deep water. | | Police believe as many as three bull sharks were responsible for a fatal attack on a young Brisbane scuba diver. Local fisherman Gordon Dix said the beach was unsafe for swimming. The water dropped sharply into a deep channel and was often murky, with runoff from Moreton Bay emptying into the ocean, particularly after storms. "This was a tragedy waiting to happen," Mr Dix said. Acting Shark Safety Program manager Tony Ham said he believed from witness descriptions that a bull shark about 2m long was the culprit. The bull shark, one of the whaler group of sharks, was responsible worldwide for more attacks on people than any other shark species and was particularly aggressive. "One shark of this size would have been capable of inflicting a large amount of damage," Mr Ham said. Bull sharks have accounted for 15 of the 18 sharks that have been caught on hooks suspended off inflatable buoys off Amity Point in the past 10 years. Acting Premier Anna Bligh ordered a review of the Shark Safety Program but maintained that beaches with measures such as the inflatable "drum line" hooks and nets had proved safer than unprotected coastline. The last shark attack on North Stradbroke Island was in 1973. Two people have been killed by bull sharks in recent years while swimming in unprotected Gold Coast canals, with another fatality in the Whitsundays in 2004. The baits on the drum lines had been restocked on Saturday morning and no sharks had been caught when the hooks were checked yesterday. Beaches in the area were closed as water police patrolled offshore and authorities warned tourists of the dangers. Authorities in NSW also warned beachgoers to be alert following a number of shark sightings along the state's coast. McDonald's Aerial Patrol general manager Harry Mitchell said sharks had been spotted off beaches between Stanwell Park, south of Sydney, and Mollymook, on the state's south coast. Many sharks, up to 4m long, were seen as close as 25m from swimmers up to 130km south of Sydney including Coalcliff, Port Kembla, Windang and Seven Mile Beach. A white pointer was seen off Ulladulla, 230km south of Sydney. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
