65-Year-Old Swimmer Dies After Shark Attack Off South Africa's Orient Beach
A 65-year-old retired medical physicist was killed by a shark while swimming with an open-water club near Orient Beach, despite wearing a magnetic shark-repellent band.
A 65-year-old swimmer died after a shark attacked her during an early-morning open-water session off Orient Beach in KuGumo City, South Africa, on Tuesday, according to the BBC. Janine Lochrenberg, a retired medical physicist, was bitten on her thigh and upper arm and lost blood before fellow club members could bring her to shore.
Club members said Lochrenberg was wearing an ankle-mounted magnetic band that is marketed to interfere with sharks' electroreception. Her sister, Margot Lochrenberg, said she held her sibling's head as she was pulled to shore and believes she bled out in the water. Margot added that her sister loved swimming and was aware of the increased shark activity in the area.
Lochnerberg's partner, Barbara Briceland, described her as an experienced swimmer who often ventured far from shore. The couple had been planning a retirement road trip. The incident was the first recorded shark attack in South Africa this year.