65-Year-Old Swimmer Dies in Shark Attack off South Africa's East Coast
Janine Lochrenberg, 65, was fatally bitten by a shark while swimming with her open-water club near KuGompo City, marking the first recorded fatal shark incident of the year.
A 65-year-old South African swimmer died after being attacked by a shark off the coast of KuGompo City on Tuesday morning. Janine Lochrenberg was participating in her regular morning swim with a local open-water club when the incident occurred at around 08:00 local time. Fellow swimmers pulled her to shore, but she is believed to have died before reaching safety.
According to a witness, Lochrenberg sustained bites on her thigh and upper arm. She was wearing a magnetic shark-repellent band on her ankle at the time of the attack.
Lochrenberg's sister, Margot, said she held her sister's head as they brought her to shore and believed she bled out in the water. Lochrenberg's partner, Barbara Briceland, described her as an experienced swimmer who often ventured far out into the breakers and called her "highly intelligent, kind, and thoughtful."
The incident is the first fatal shark attack recorded globally this year. South Africa records roughly ten fatal shark attacks per decade, according to the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File.