Swimmers and surfers fled the water yesterday after lifeguards spotted a shark off Gonubie beach, South Africa. The beach was immediately closed by lifeguards. Officials are monitoring the situation and might reopen the beach today.
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According to South Africa’s News24.com, a teenager died at Port St Johns after being bitten on the leg by a shark.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said 16-year-old Luyolo Mangele was attacked by what is believed to have been a Zambezi shark on Saturday afternoon while surfing off Second Beach, Port St Johns.
Apparently, there was a scream and immediately after, a huge red spot appeared around Luyolo’s surfboard.
Luyolo tried to make it back to shore but lost consciousness when he reached shallow water. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
UPDATE: Daily Dispatch Online posted these images of Luyolo that were taken just minutes before he was attacked.
A skipper on a tuna boat off Cape Point, South Africa got bit by a shark… just five minutes after explaining to his crew what they should do if a shark is caught in their nets.
The bite left Gabriel Fernandez, 40, with cuts on two fingers on his right hand and a 6cm cut on his right arm. He was pulling the shark in when it turned around and bit him.
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Turns out a Zambezi shark was responsible for attacking and killing that lifeguard in South Africa over the weekend.
Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe, 27, was attacked by the shark on Saturday afternoon while swimming with a friend at Second Beach. He was bitten on the shoulder, right arm, back and rear.
Natal Sharks Board’s head researcher Geremy Cliff said an examination of the body established that a Zambezi (bull) shark had attacked him.
Environmental consultant Conroy van der Riet said factors which could have contributed to the attack included the spillage of untreated sewage in the water.
“Untreated sewage in the water attracts fish, which attract sharks,” he said. “There may also have been raw meat in the water as a result of traditional healers making a sacrifice or he may have been urinating in the water, which attracts sharks.”
East London Coastal and Environmental Services director Dr. Alan Carter agreed that sewage could attract sharks, and said one of the recommendations in the International Shark Attack File on how to avoid becoming a victim of a shark attack was to avoid swimming in water containing sewage. Uh, I think I’d avoid that anyways.
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A lifeguard was savagely attacked and killed by a tiger shark over the weekend in South Africa. People watched in horror as Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe, 27, died from massive injuries within minutes of being ripped to shreds by the shark at Second Beach in Port St Johns.
At 2pm, Bangalizwe and another friend, Gerald Mtakati, went out for a swim to cool down from the heat. Mtakati, a fellow lifeguard, heard his friend scream and then saw the water start turning red with blood.
Mtakati tried to save him, but by the time he got to Bangilizwe, the shark had already bitten off his right hand, sliced his lower back open and was coming in for the third bite, a bite to the right thigh. Bangilizwe wasn’t moving. His body was just floating in the water.
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A 15-year-old kid got bit by a shark Wednesday night when he tried to release it back into the ocean. (This isn’t him, but you get the idea…)
The kid had just spent 90 minutes reeling the shark in from the shore at a South Africa beach and was attempting to release it back into the ocean when it whipped around and bit him. The shark swam back out to sea leaving the teenager on the shore with bite marks on both his legs and his torso.
He was taken to a local hospital and was released around midnight.
The moral of the story… don’t touch sharks.
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