Shark attack leaves swimmer dead in South Africa as popular beach is closed

Shark attack leaves swimmer dead in South Africa as popular beach is closed A 65-year-old woman died in a shark attack off South Africa's Eastern Cape province on Tuesday morning - witnesses described the bites she suffered as 'very severe' A woman has been killed in a shark attack while swimming off the coast of South Africa's Eastern Cape province. The 65-year-old woman, who was swimming with a group near Orient Beach in KuGompo City, indicated she was in trouble shortly after 8am local time (7am BST) on Tuesday, a witness told South African public broadcaster SABC. "We all realised she'd been bitten by a shark, and she was in a very bad way," the man said. "The bites were very severe, but there were only two, one on her thigh and one on her upper arm." The witness said the woman was brought back to shore, where she was pronounced dead on the beach. The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality said there had been a shark attack that resulted in a "tragic incident". It said Orient Beach and nearby Eastern Beach have been closed until further notice. The municipality urged people "to exercise extreme caution and to refrain from entering the water at the affected beaches", adding that warnings were being issued at other beaches. There were 65 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide in 2025 - up from 47 during 2024 - according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File. Twelve of last year's shark attacks - including South Africa's sole incident - resulted in human fatalities, the report said. Five of the deadly shark attacks took place in Australia, where 21 unprovoked shark attacks were recorded. Surfers and those participating in board sports accounted for 32 per cent of the unprovoked shark bites. Swimmers and waders made up 46 per cent, with snorkellers or free divers accounting for 15 per cent.