A 65-year-old woman has become the first person to to be killed by a shark in South Africa this year after she was attacked during a group swim in the ocean.
Janine Lochrenberg, a retired nuclear radiographer and musician, was taking a morning swim at Orient Beach in KuGompo City, formerly known as East London, on Tuesday when she was attacked.
Witnesses said that Janine, who had been with her local open water swimming club at the time, suffered severe bites to her thigh and upper arm, BBC reports.
Her fellow swimmers rushed to her aid after they heard her screaming and brought her towards the shore, but attempts to save her life were unsuccessful. A medic who was among the group also attempted to save her before she was pronounced dead.
One swimmer, Mike Loewe, told News24 that Janine was attacked despite wearing a shark repellent band on her ankle.
‘We were all in the water, swimming. We were wearing [magnetic shark repellents] on our feet. She had one on,’ he explained.
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‘We are a very close community. We love open-ocean swimming. This is a great shock.’
Orienthas since been closed to the public as a precaution, while nearby Eastern Beach has also been closed.
Municipality spokesperson Luzuko Buku told SABC that the closures were to allow authorities to investigate what happened.
‘We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident that has happened here at our Orient Beach, where a swimmer, a recreational swimmer, was attacked clearly by a shark, and certainly they lost their life,’ Buku said.
‘We are doing our own investigations to really ascertain what happened.’
Tributes have since poured in for Janine, with the East London Open Water Swimming Group, of which she was a member, posting a heartfelt message on their Facebook page.
‘The ocean was Janine’s happy place. It was where she found her joy, and where so many of us were fortunate enough to share special moments with her,’ the post read.
‘We will remember her beautiful smile, her gentle kindness, and the quiet but meaningful presence she brought to our swimming family.’
Janine’s sister Margot said she ‘had loved the water so much’ despite knowing there was an elevated risk from sharks in the region.
Her partner Barbara Briceland described Janine as a good swimmer who often swam far out into the breakers.
‘She was highly intelligent, lots of fun, kind, in a quietish way, thoughtful, well-loved with a love of life,’ she said.
Barbara added that they had been looking forward to retirement, and were about to head off together for a three-week road trip.
Although great white sharks and shark tourism are commonplace in South Africa, fatal shark attacks there are comparatively rare.
According to records from the local municipality, the last shark-related death in the city occurred all the way back in 1997, while the most recent reported attack came in 2023.