The teenager died after being attacked by a shark in Queensland, Australia.
Paramedics responded to reports on the “serious shark incident” on Worim Beach, north of Brisbane, around 16:45 Local Time (06:45 GMT) on Monday, the ambulance service in Queensland on X wrote.
Police confirmed that the girl had sustained life -threatening injuries and died shortly after 5:00 pm. The Australian media reports that she was 17 years old.
The waters around the beach are home to many sharks, but the attack happened near the coast at a popular surf site, which has measures of shark protection.
Police confirmed that the girl was swimming in the waters from the island of Bribie – right next to the mainland, on which the Worsim beach sits – when it was attacked by a shark, whose species was not identified.
The ambulance service in Queensland confirmed that the victim suffered dangerous injuries to her upper body.
She bit her hand around 100m from the coast, Australian media reports.
Christopher Potter arrived at the beach shortly after the attack occurred. For ABC News, he said: “There are a lot of swimming groups that swim here, morning and afternoon.
“It is known that there are a lot of sharks around Bribie, but this near the coast, that’s still a shock.”
The water near the beach is protected by drums – the barrels anchored on the seabed that splashed the hooks to catch the sharks that are too close.
The target species caught in them are then euthanized, while other species move and release.
Police said they would prepare a report for the coroner on Monday.
It is the second fatality of the shark in Australian waters this year, after Surfer Lance Appleby was killed near the coast of South Australia on January 2.
The last fatal attack in the area of Veliki Brisbane came in 2006, when 21-year-old Sarah Whity was killed while swimming with friends.
Sharks’ attacks in Queensland “are rarely happening and most sharks of sharks are not a risk of humans,” the state government website said.
