Shark Attack Live on Twitter

7.05pm Tuesday 12 January 2010

Three hours ago social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook exploded with real-time news of a shark attack in Fish Hoek, reports Spike.

When National Sea Rescue Institute Station Commander Darren Zimmerman was telling journalists just after the attack, which occurred at around 3.15pm, that he was unable to provide more information, Facebook and Twitter were being flooded with eye witness accounts.

"I am with the patient right now and will provide more details later," he told the media. However, numerous accounts of the attack appeared almost immediately on Twitter and Facebook.

"Holy shit, we just saw a GIGANTIC shark eat what looked like a person right in front of our house in fishhoek. Unbelievable," wrote False Bay surfer and K Bay local Gregg Coppen in the first of a flurry of tweets from his home overloooking Fish Hoek main beach.

"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   3:44 pm

"We are dumbstruck, that was so surreal. That shark was HUGE. Like dinosaur huge. #sharkattack #fishhoek"  skabenga   Jan 12   3:47 pm

"Helicopters are out and looking for any trace of the remains. Shark headed off Clovelly way #fishoek #sharkattack"  skabenga   Jan 12   4:06 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   4:11 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   4:19 pm

Dave Lipshitz, a veteran surfing administrator and surf shop owner, said on his Facebook page that reports had been "confirmed that a middle aged foreign national was attacked just 20m off the shoreline. The shark apparently attacked the man in chest deep water, before proceeding to circle the torso and then returning for the finish. Rescue was seen scouring the shoreline and area for remains."

Ironically, the Cape Times this morning issued a warning to bathers:

"Cape Town's disaster management warned bathers to be on the lookout for Great White sharks which traditionally cruise that stretch of the coast for a nibble 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. Bathers and swimmers along the False Bay coastline are urged to be cautious and to adhere to the safety warnings of shark spotters."

The search for the man, a 37-year-old tourist from Harare, Zimbabwe, who was living in the DRC, was called off but will resume on Wednesday. No remains have been found of the man who was apparently in South Africa to attend a wedding. His girlfriend, who saw the attack, received trauma councilling.