16-year-old girl killed by shark during swim with dolphins: ‘Extremely traumatic’

A 16-year-old girl was killed during a shark attack in Australia.

Authorities in the Fremantle District district have said that the teen was swimming with a pod of dolphins in the Swan River moments before the tragedy on Saturday, WA Today reports. First responders tried to give her CPR but she was declared dead at the scene.

A teen who was also in the river with several friends recounted how responding officers rushed to rescue the girl before they were asked to leave the water by a person on a jet ski.

“When all the police came by we thought we were in trouble,” he told WA Today. “They looked at us and they didn’t tell us about it which is kind of worrying as after this had happened we were still jumping off the rope swing.”

“We were so grateful that it wasn’t one of us, of course, we’re so sorry for what happened and for the family involved,” he added.

According to East Fremantle district inspector Paul Robinson, friends of the victim also witnessed the attack.

Mr Robinson said that she was jet skiing and then jumped on the water shortly before the incident around 3.20pm.

“It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries,” Mr Robinson told WA Today. “It is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river”

A shark warning was sent so visitors would steer clear from the scene while police investigated.

The last time that a shark killed a person in the Australian river was exactly a century ago, when a 13-year-old was bitten to death in 1923, according to WA Today.

Around 20 shark attacks are recorded every year in Australia, reports the BBC. Two fatal incidents were recorded in 2021, while seven were documented the previous year.

It has not been revealed what type of shark attacked the teen.