Shark kills 19-year-old swimming with friends in rare New Zealand attack

While swimming with her family Thursday at a New Zealand beach, Amanda Gould spotted a young woman being pulled out to sea by a rip current.

“She got separated from all her friends and was pulled really far out, beyond where the surfers would sit,” Gould told Stuff, a New Zealand news site. “No one saw her waving out, but I did hear a scream.”

After lifeguards went to the woman’s rescue, Gould thought she spotted someone else in trouble on the water, according to the publication.

“But the lifeguard said ‘no, that’s a shark, we need to get people out of the water,’” Gould said, Stuff reported. ““So I was watching the shark’s fin go around, not another person.”

Kaelah Marlow, 19, of Hamilton, died on Waihi Beach after being brought to shore, New Zealand police reported.

Marlow had suffered shark bites to her legs, Sky News reported. Lifeguards were unable to revive her on the beach after rescuing her.

“It was shocking, surreal, and we were all a bit freaked out...it keeps playing on my mind,” Gould said, according to Stuff.

Witnesses reported seeing a great white shark attack Marlow, but authorities have not confirmed the type of shark involved, BBC News reported.

“Sharks are reasonably common near all northern beaches of New Zealand. Most are harmless, and even species considered dangerous very rarely interact with swimmers,” shark researcher Kina Scollay told the BBC.

Shark attacks are rare in New Zealand, where the last fatal attack took place in 2013, CNN reported. A non-fatal attack took place in 2018.

“Shark attacks are incredibly rare and if you see one, remain calm, alert people around you, and calmly vacate the water,” said shark researcher Riley Elliot, The New Zealand Herald reported.

This story was originally published January 10, 2021 at 8:01 AM with the headline "Shark kills 19-year-old swimming with friends in rare New Zealand attack."