Giant shark kills bodyboarder at notorious surf spot

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This was published 11 years ago

Giant shark kills bodyboarder at notorious surf spot

A 20-year-old bodyboarder has been killed by a giant shark, estimated at four to five metres, that bit off his leg in a Cape Town bay, in South Africa's second fatal mauling this year.

The shark struck while David Lillienfeld was bodyboarding at Kogel Bay Resort, near Gordon's Bay, in False Bay, about 50 kilometres from the city centre.

His brother Gustav tried to pull him to safety, Eyewitness News website reported yesterday.

"The deceased man sustained complete amputation of his right leg, below the hip, while bodyboarding with his brother and friends," National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

"There are no other bite marks or lacerations on the deceased man's body - only the complete amputation of the right leg and the leg has not been recovered."

Witnesses reported that a single shark attacked the man. They said up to six sharks were seen after the attack at the popular surfing and bodyboarding site.

Mr Lillienfeld's body was recovered after he was hauled to shore, Mr Lambinon said.

Officials are considering a trial shark net for Fish Hoek, another popular swimming beach.

To counter attacks due to regular shark presence, the city also uses a shark spotting program.

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A shark research permit for a National Geographic documentary being filmed in the area was cancelled after the attack.

The attack is the second shark fatality along South African shores this year after a swimmer was killed in waist-deep water at Second Beach in the rural Eastern Cape in January.

A British man lost parts of both legs at Fish Hoek in September, after he ignored warning flags on a beach that had been closed due to shark activity.

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Last week, coastal authorities warned beachgoers around the tourist town of Knysna, about 400 kilometres east of Cape Town, that sharks were moving into the area, feeding on the remains of a whale that had run ashore.

AFP

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