Teen girl mauled to death by shark in front of her friends in horrendous attack
A teenager was attacked and killed by a shark as she was enjoying a swim with her friends in a river.
The 16-year-old girl suffered deadly injuries from the predator on Saturday afternoon, while her friends got to witness the gruesome scene.
The tragic incident happened near the Fremantle Traffic Bridge over the Swan River in Perth, Australia, and it is the first deadly shark attack in the area in nearly a century.
Authorities said the girl and her friends were on jet skis when she possibly jumped in the water to swim nearby some dolphins.
But a shark believed to have been a bull shark although its species hasn't been confirmed, spotted and attacked the teen.
Hero desperately tried to save girl, 16, killed by shark in front of friends
The tragic incident happened near the Fremantle Traffic Bridge over the Swan River in Perth, AustraliaShe was pulled from the water but pronounced dead at the scene after efforts to revive her failed, said Paul Robinson, police acting inspector for the Fremantle district.
Robinson told reporters during a news conference: "It's very early on, what we're being advised is that she was with friends on the river.
"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."
Authorities said the girl was jet skiing with her friends in the river (10NewsFirst)He described the incident as "very, very traumatic" and said the girl's family, from Perth, were "absolutely devastated by the news".
Robinson noted: "It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries.
"It is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river … at this point in time an alert has been put out, a shark warning just to let people know this incident has taken place."
Paramedics tried to save her but she sadly succumbed to her wounds (10NewsFirst)A teenage witness was with a group of friends jumping from the old Fremantle traffic bridge rope swing when they noticed a jetski and nearby swimmers rushing to shore.
Joshua, 16, told WAToday: "There were about seven of us and we were on the rope swing for around an hour or two.
"We saw the dolphins, there were dolphins there. When all the police came by we thought we were in trouble."
Joshua said the police went passed the group but did not say anything to them.
Shark attack victim mauled to death praised as 'sweetest and smartest girl'
He added: "They looked at us and they didn’t tell us about it which is kind of worrying as after this had happened we were still jumping off the rope swim.
"Another person then came over on a jet ski and told us to get out of the water.
"We were so grateful that it wasn’t one of us, of course we’re so sorry for what happened and for the family involved."
Authorities have issued a warning over the presence of the predator in the area (10NewsFirst)According to Sports Australia, 4.5 million Aussies swim regularly and at least 500,000 surf.
In February last year, a 35-year-old British diving instructor, Simon Nellist, was devoured off Sydney's Little Bay Beach, the first such attack in the country's largest city since 1963.
The only recorded fatal bull shark attack in the Swan River prior to Saturday’s incident happened in 1923 when a 13-year-old boy was bitten on the thigh while swimming near Mosman Park.
The last fatal attack in an Australian river was recorded in 1960, when a bull shark measuring an estimated 3.3 metres (nearly 11 feet) killed a snorkeller at Roseville Bridge in Sydney, according to a database run by Taronga Conservation Society.
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