Woman Dies in Suspected Shark Attack at Popular New Zealand Beach

Woman Dies in Suspected Shark Attack at Popular New Zealand Beach

The tragedy could be New Zealand's 25th fatal shark attack - Image Source: Waihi Beach Info

NEW ZEALAND police have announced that a woman has died from a suspected shark attack at a popular beach.

Police were called to reports of a woman injured in the waters of Waihi Beach, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island in the early hours of Wednesday evening (January 6th).

A police statement said that “initial indications suggest she may have been injured by a shark. Sadly she died at the scene a short time later”. Her death could be the 25th recorded shark fatality in New Zealand’s history and the first since a 46-year old man was killed at Muriwai near Auckland seven years ago.

Waihi Beach, an idyllic tourist hot spot, claims it is “one of New Zealand’s safest surf beaches and home to a vibrant and friendly beachside community”. Despite this promotion, there have been occasional shark sightings in the area over the last few years including a 3.5 metre male spotted last February.

Shark attacks have reportedly risen in the last 12 months due to an increase in pandemic “staycations” and a change in hunting grounds for the animals due to overfishing and climate change.


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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