A fellow open-water swimmer has recounted the traumatic moments surrounding the fatal shark attack on 65-year-old Janine Lochrenberg at Orient Beach in KuGompo City, formerly East London, in the Eastern Cape.
Lochrenberg was swimming with a group when she was bitten by a shark on Tuesday morning.
Her friend and fellow swimmer, Mike Loewe, who was several metres behind the group, said they noticed splashing in the water and other swimmers waving for help.
Loewe and another strong swimmer rushed to assist Lochrenberg, who was in a state of shock.
“She was in desperate shock. Myself and sort of one of our strongest swimmers, we cradled her and had to hold her head, and then we tried our best to swim to shore,” he said.
As they approached the shore, Lochrenberg’s son, a deaf Olympic swimmer, rushed into the surf and took her from them.
Loewe said another swimmer, who was a paramedic, began administering treatment before other emergency responders arrived.
However, Lochrenberg was declared dead at the scene.
Reflecting on the incident, Loewe said he believed she had died while they were trying to bring her to shore.
“My feeling, having been that close to her, was, you know, holding her hand, only her neck at the back to keep her head up. I got the feeling that she died in our arms basically,” he said.
Following the tragedy, the swimming group gathered in a circle to pray and comfort one another as Lochrenberg’s body was taken away.
Loewe described the group as a close-knit community united by their love of open-water swimming, adding that he would miss his friend dearly.
He said scientists believe a great white shark was responsible for the attack.
Police confirmed that they were called to the scene at around 7am, where they found the body of a 65-year-old woman with what they described as “open wounds”.