Shark kills 16-year-old girl swimming in river in Western Australia
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It could not be immediately determined what shark species attacked the girl.
PHOTO: AFP
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SYDNEY - A 16-year-old girl was mauled to death on Saturday by a shark as she swam in a river in Western Australia, officials said.
The girl was critically injured when an unknown species of shark bit her in the Swan River in the Perth suburb of Fremantle, a state government statement said.
She was pulled from the water but pronounced dead at the scene after efforts to revive her failed, said Mr Paul Robinson, police acting inspector for the Fremantle district.
“It’s very early on. What we’re being advised is that she was with friends on the river,” he told a news conference. “They were on jet skis. Possible a pod of dolphins were being seen nearby and the young female jumped in to swim nearby the dolphins.”
Describing it as a “very, very traumatic incident”, Mr Robinson said the family of the girl, who was from Perth, were “absolutely devastated by the news”.
Fisheries experts have advised that it is unusual for sharks to be found in that part of the river, he said. AFP
