Advertisement

Teenage girl killed in shark attack in Australia

A teenage girl has been killed in a shark attack in Australia.

The 16-year-old was pulled from the Swan River in Perth with critical injuries on Saturday, police said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Inspector Paul Robinson said the victim had been with her friends on jet skis and they witnessed the "extremely traumatic incident".

He said "there was possibly a pod of dolphins seen nearby and the young female jumped in the water to swim nearby the dolphins".

The victim's family was not present at the time, the officer added.

The type of shark involved in the attack is not currently known.

Read more:
British boy attacked by shark in Bahamas
Shark spotted just metres from oblivious swimmers

Australia's Department of Fisheries said it was unusual for a shark to be so far down the river, which flows through Perth into the Indian Ocean.

It is believed to be the first fatal shark attack in the Swan River since January 1923, when a 13-year-old boy was killed.