6 shark deaths in 5 yrs

Monday 16 January 2011

The man killed by a shark in warm, waist-deep water at Second Beach in Port St Johns yesterday, was not surfing, according to the NSRI in updated reports, after stories ran that the man had tried to ward off the shark with a surfboard.

The 25-year-old died despite frantic efforts to resuscite him at the beach and on the way to a health centre. The NSRI's Craig Lambinon said the man, who is from the Tombo region in Transkei, received "traumatic lacerations" to his chest, arms and legs.

According to the NSRI, the man was swimming in very warm water with poor visibility in an area crowded by bathers.

News24 reported John Costello, the NSRI's Port St Johns station commander, as saying that "when volunteer sea rescue duty crew reached Second Beach, on-scene lifeguards, Eastern Cape health officials and paramedics were trying to save a 25-year-old man's life". 

The attack comes a year to the day after the fatal attack on young teenage surfing prodigy Zama Ndamase (pictured), who died surfing Second Beach on 16 January 2011. Zama was a product of the Border Surfing Association development programme.

Ndamase's brother Avuyile was one of the central characters in the Wavescape-produced film Surfing and Sharks that premiered at the Wavescape Film Festival at the end of last year.

The weekend fatality brings to six the number of attacks at the beach since 2007 and probably makes it the most dangerous beach in the world.

An interesting footnote is that there are rumours that a whale was once buried at Second Beach. Could the blubbery fat and oil, which last a long time, still be emitting a scent that seeps into the sea around Second Beach? #justsaying