Austrian tourist killed by shark on 'world's deadliest beach'

A 72-year-old Austrian tourist has become the latest victim of a fatal shark attack at the world's deadliest beach, in South Africa.


The unnamed man was swimming as part of a group of tourists at Second Beach in Port St John's when the shark struck at around 3pm on Saturday.


He was the eight person to be killed at the beach in five years. The average fatality rate for shark attacks in South Africa is one in five but in Port St Johns, all but one shark attack has resulted in death since the spate started in January 2007.


Worldwide, no single other state or country has notched up the same number of deadly shark attacks as Second Beach in the past decade.


Most of the attacks were blamed out by Zambezi or bull sharks, also known as the "pitbulls of the ocean" for their habit of biting and shaking to cause catastrophic injuries.


The last person to fall victim was Fundile Nodumla, 39, from nearby Mthatha, in March last year. He fought off the shark and was pulled out of the water by passersby with injuries to both arms, his chest and stomach.

The previous victim, Liya Sibili, 22, died on Christmas Day 2012 after being taken by a shark in waist-deep water. Only his bathing trunks were recovered despite a three-day search for his body.

Catherine Yazbek, a local guesthouse owner, said her husband saw people running towards the beach as others emerged from the water shouting for help.

"The tide was coming in and they were swimming like lots of others on the long weekend, not that far out," she said.

The local council is no longer paying for lifeguards and the man's body floated in the water for half an hour before a rescue boat could be mustered to recover it, she added.
Austrian tourist killed by shark on 'world's deadliest beach' [shared from Weave for Windows Phone]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/southafrica/10717340/Austrian-tourist-killed-by-shark-on-worlds-deadliest-beach.html