Woman, 65, is killed by a shark while swimming with a group off a popular South African beach

Janine Lochrenberg, a retired nuclear radiographer, was wearing a magnetic anti-shark band when a shark bit her on the thigh and upper arm at Orient Beach in KuGompo City. Her son and two other swimmers dragged her back to shore, but resuscitation efforts failed. Other people in the water had seen a shark's tail and fin before the attack. Orient Beach and Eastern Beach have been closed by Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality until further notice.

Fellow swimmer Mike Loewe: 'We tried to raise her pulse, but unfortunately, she passed on.'

South Africa's only unprovoked shark attack of 2025 was also fatal.

Unprovoked shark bites worldwide rose to 65 in 2025, up from 47.