- Janine Lochrenberg was fatally attacked by a shark off Orient Beach in KuGompo City while swimming with her open-water club at around 8 am on Tuesday
- Her sister Margot held her head as fellow swimmers desperately tried to get her back to shore after she suffered severe bites
- Lochrenberg was wearing a shark-repellent band at the time of the attack, which failed to prevent the fatal encounter
The sister of open-water swimmer Janine Lochrenberg has spoken about the retired medical physicist's final moments after she was killed in a shark attack off the Eastern Cape coast.
Source: Facebook
Lochrenberg, 65, was in the water with her local open-water swimming club at Orient Beach in KuGompo City on Tuesday morning when the attack occurred at approximately 8 am. Witnesses reported that she sustained serious bites to her thigh and upper arm.
Sister recalls desperate rush to shore
Fellow swimmers immediately worked to bring Lochrenberg towards the shore after the attack. Her sister, Margot, was present during the ordeal and held Janine's head as the group struggled to get her out of the water.
"She had a deep affinity with the water and was a remarkable person," Margot said, adding that Lochrenberg had been fully aware of the shark risks associated with her sport and had accepted them as part of her passion for swimming.
Margot told the BBC, as reported by the New York Post, that she believed Janine had already lost a critical amount of blood before reaching the shore.
As seen in the post below on Facebook.
Shark-repellent band failed to protect swimmer
At the time of the attack, Lochrenberg was wearing a magnetic shark-repellent band around her ankle. These devices are designed to interfere with sharks' electroreception as a deterrent, though their effectiveness is known to vary depending on the product and surrounding conditions.
Her partner, Barbara Briceland, remembered Lochrenberg as someone unafraid to swim far out into open water.
"She was highly intelligent, lots of fun, kind, in a quietish way, thoughtful, well-loved with a love of life," Briceland told the BBC.
The couple had been looking ahead to retirement and a planned road trip together. Janine's long-time travel companions shared an emotional tribute recalling years of 4x4 camping adventures across southern and central Africa
The fatal incident has reignited debate around the dangers confronting open-water swimmers, who train and race in natural environments where marine life encounters can be sudden and unpredictable.
Swimming community mourns Janine Lochrenberg
Briefly News previously reported that experienced open-water swimmer Janine Lochrenberg, 65, died after a shark attacked her at Orient Beach in East London on Tuesday, 20 October 2026
Fellow swimmers, including Deaf SA Olympian Mark Roach, rushed to bring Lochrenberg ashore while advanced life support medics attempted resuscitation on the beach
Source: Briefly News
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