Lifeguard killed in shark attack
2009-01-26 08:45
Johannesburg - A 27-year-old lifeguard died after he was attacked by a shark at a beach in Port St Johns on Sunday, the Daily Dispatch reported on Monday.
The report said Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe, 27, died minutes he was attacked by a tiger shark at Second Beach in Port St Johns.
Bangilizwe and a friend went for a swim around 14:00.
A fellow lifeguard, Gerald Mtakati, 32, witnessed the attack.
"I just saw blood in the water and quickly grabbed a rubber duck. When I got to him, the shark had already bitten off his hand and his lower back, it was coming in for the third bite," Mtakati told the Daily Dispatch.
"By the time I got to him, he was not moving and the shark was on the other side heading towards him. He was in the centre, between me and shark."
The noise of the rubber duck scared the shark off but by that time Bangilizwe had already died.
- SAPA