A 65-year-old woman died after being mauled by a shark while swimming at Orient Beach in KuGompo City on Tuesday morning, prompting local authorities to close nearby beaches and urge the public to stay out of the water.
The municipality confirmed the shark attack occurred at approximately 7:00 am local time, and police found the woman’s body with open wounds on the right side of her arm and leg. Witnesses reported hearing screams and said two swimmers and the victim’s son brought her to shore, where they attempted to revive her before medics declared her dead.
The victim, identified locally as Janine Lochrenberg, a retired nuclear radiographer, had been swimming with a group when the attack took place. A local community group noted that other swimmers had spotted a shark’s tail and fin in the area prior to the incident. Lochrenberg was wearing a magnetic shark deterrent band at the time of the attack.
Following the fatal encounter, the city issued a statement confirming the closure of nearby beaches and emphasized the tragic nature of the incident. The municipality did not specify how long the beaches would remain closed.
According to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, there were 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, up from 47 the previous year, including nine fatalities. South Africa recorded one fatal shark attack last year, while the U.S. had 25 unprovoked bites (one fatal) and Australia reported 21 (five fatal). In 2022, South Africa experienced two fatal shark attacks, including one involving a 39-year-old woman on vacation with her family.
Researchers attribute the rise in shark encounters to factors such as growing coastal populations, increased marine activity, environmental changes, and shifts in shark and prey distribution. Fatal shark attacks remain uncommon globally, though South Africa has a history of deadly encounters along its coastline.
The incident occurred roughly one month after a man was killed by a shark off a Western Australian city shore, underscoring ongoing concerns about shark-human interactions in popular coastal regions.