Shark kills woman swimming off popular South African beach

A woman has died after being mauled by a shark while swimming off a popular beach on South Africa's southeastern coast.

The woman, a retired nuclear radiographer who has been named locally as 65-year-old Janine Lochrenberg, was swimming with a group on Tuesday at Orient Beach in KuGompo City when she was attacked by a shark, witnesses told local news outlet News 24. 

Mike Loewe, who was swimming with Lochrenberg, described hearing her screaming and said two swimmers and her son brought her back to shore.

He told the outlet: 'She was very much in a distressed way. She had been severely bitten. It looked like it was an injury to her thigh and upper arm. She was brought ashore. We tried to raise her pulse, but unfortunately, she passed on. Medics declared her dead.'  

Lochrenberg had been wearing a magnetic shark deterrent band, Loewe said.  

The shark attack prompted the municipality to close nearby beaches and urged the public to stay out of the water.

Police said they were called to the scene at around 7:00 am local time, where they found the body of a 65-year-old woman with 'open wounds'.

A local community group said other swimmers had spotted a shark's tail and fin. 'The victim sustained severe injuries to the right side of her arm and leg,' the group said in a Facebook post.

There were 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide in 2025, up from 47 the previous year, including nine fatalities, one of which was in South Africa, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.

Researchers say encounters can be influenced by a range of factors, including growing coastal populations, increased use of marine waters, environmental changes, and shifts in the distribution of sharks and their prey.

Fatal shark attacks are uncommon worldwide, but South Africa has a history of deadly encounters along its long coastline. 

This is a breaking news story; more to follow.