I got a call from a friend on Fish hoek beach letting me know that a white shark had just bitten a swimmer in front of the coffee shop at fish hoek beach, I went down to have a look for myself.
The wind was howling 30 Knots SE making the ocean very choppy and difficult for rescue operations. There were 4 boats patrolling the bay looking for the body.
Here are some images from the beach -
Shark flags at Fish Hoek beach
Rescue operations at Fish Hoek beach, Cape Town, after the unfortunate shark encounter
This is an article released today by News 24
Man dies in CT shark attack 2010-01-12 17:10
The NSRI has confirmed that a swimmer has been the victim of a shark attack at Fish Hoek beach near Cape Town. Ian Klopper of the NSRI told News24 that an intensive search was underway to locate the swimmer, but had so far yielded nothing. “A white male, between 32 and 38 years old has been taken by a shark and we have not been able to locate the patient,” Klopper said. The identity of the victim is still unknown.
Twitter users also confirmed the attack. “Holy s**t, we just saw a GIGANTIC shark eat what looked like a person right in front of our house in fishhoek. Unbelievable,” wrote skabenga.
Bathers have been warned by Cape Town Disaster management to be on the lookout for great white sharks which traditionally cruise this stretch of the coast at this time of year. “The appearance of white sharks is normal during peak summer months in Cape Town near in-shore areas, as these sharks are known to hunt and feed along this stretch of coastline at this time of year,” spokesperson Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said on Tuesday. If you witnessed this, send your comments to feedback@news24.com. – News24
There were some very interesting tweets put up on twitter
Witness tweets shark attack as it happens
Just been watching an unbelievable Twitter stream from @skabenga – an eyewitness account of a shark attack at Fish Hoek, a beach town near Cape Town.
Gripping, frightening, visceral stuff. Here’s a snapshot:
Holy shit, we just saw a GIGANTIC shark eat what looked like a person right in front of our house in fishhoek. Unbelievable.
skabenga Jan 12 1:40 pm
Emergency services just arrived. It must have been a person. The shark breached it’s head out the water no remains http://yfrog.com/1dronnpj
skabenga Jan 12 1:44 pm
We are dumbstruck, that was so surreal. That shark was HUGE. Like dinosaur huge. #sharkattack #fishhoek
skabenga Jan 12 1:47 pm
Helicopters are out and looking for any trace of the remains. Shark headed off Clovelly way #fishoek #sharkattack
skabenga Jan 12 2:06 pm
Emergency boats also out crisscrossing the area. We have seen sharks in the bay before but that one was enormous. #fishoek #sharkattack
skabenga Jan 12 2:11 pm
@igitur At first it could have been a seal pup but then the object it pulled under had some color visible before it disappeared
skabenga Jan 12 2:19 pm
RT: @joyanne: spoke to allan from whale watchers-he said they’ve found half a body and the person was swimming off the catwalk
skabenga Jan 12 2:41 pm
This is an incredibly unfortunate interaction in no way shows that white sharks activly seek swimmers / surfers as a food source. Every day there are hundreds of users in the waters of false bay without incedent, but unfortunatly these top predators do make mistakes with serious consequences.
