Teenage girl fatally attacked by shark at popular tourist spot
A teenage girl has been fatally attacked by a shark at a popular tourist spot to the north of Brisbane, Australia.
While Australia has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, shark attacks are not exactly uncommon Down Under.
Queensland Ambulance Service took to Twitter early on Monday (February 3) to confirm they were responding to an incident at Woorim Beach.
"Paramedics have responded to Woorim Beach at 4.45pm following reports of a serious shark bite incident," they wrote.
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Police later confirmed that a 17-year-old girl had suffered life-threatening injuries and died shorty after 5pm local time.
Media reports in Australia state the teenager sustained injuries to her upper body as she swam on the south-east end of Bribie Island.
The attack from the unidentified shark species happened just 100m away from shore, local reports have added.
7NEWS reporter Jacquelin Robson said: "It’s not yet known what kind of shark was involved.
"The water appears to be murky and surf life savers tell us there have been multiple shark sightings over recent weeks."
Meanwhile, Surf Life Saving Queensland confirmed in a statement: "Woorim Beach will remain closed until further notice."
The beach is a popular spot for swimming, surfing and fishing for both tourists and locals, with the eastern coast an open beach, according to ABC News.
Local Christopher Potter got down to the beach shortly after the horrifying incident happened, and has been speaking to the outlet following the tragedy.
"There are a lot of swimming groups that swim along here, morning and afternoon," he said.
"It's known there are a lot of sharks around Bribie, but this close to shore, it's still a shock."
Police say they are preparing a report for the coroner regarding the awful incident.
The fatality is the second in Australia's waters in as many weeks, after surfer Lance Appleby was killed by a shark on January 2 off the coast of South Australia.
As for the Greater Brisbane area, it was in 2006 when the last fatal shark attack occurred, after 21-year-old Sarah Whiley was attacked.
While people will be concerned after reading this devastating news, Queensland state government reiterate that shark attacks 'happen rarely'.
Their website states: "Shark bites in Queensland happen rarely and most shark species do not pose a risk to people."
Callum Jones