A teenage girl in Australia was killed by a shark when she jumped off her jet ski to swim with dolphins spotted nearby.
The girl, only identified as a 16-year-old by authorities due to her age, suffered severe injuries after a shark attacked her in the Swan River in Perth. She later succumbed to her injuries.
Speaking to a news outlet, Acting Police Inspector Paul Robinson said that there was a possibility that the young girl and her friends had spotted a pod of dolphins near where they were jet skiing, and the girl jumped into the river to swim near the dolphins.
None of the teen’s friends jumped into the water with her.
According to some wildlife officials, the Swan River, which connects to the Indian Ocean, does not have a huge presence of sharks, so a shark sighting is rare in the area.
Officer Robinson said he met with the Fisheries and Water police to discuss the incident, but they did not know what type of shark attacked the teenager.
Local media reports speculate that the attack could have been committed by a bull shark, usually found in Australian rivers.
Speaking to CNN, Andrew Chin, a James Cook University senior research fellow, said that even though the attack was rare, it was not without precedent.
Chin said the river estuary is a great habitat for bull sharks, and people can come into close contact with the sea animal. He warned everyone to follow the shark safety advice from local authorities and be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
The last fatal shark attack in Perth’s Swan River was in November 2021, when a bull shark attacked a 50-year-old local man. Witnesses pulled him from the river and tried to stop the bleeding from his leg, but he later died.
Officer Robinson said that although bull sharks are aggressive sometimes, experts continue to reiterate that attacks are rare events.
Chin said that, unfortunately, like all shark encounters, bull shark attacks can end in tragedy.
