Shark kills woman swimming off South Africa's Eastern Cape

A 65-year-old woman ​was killed by a shark ‌at a ​popular beach off the coast of South Africa's Eastern Cape province on Tuesday, local authorities said.

"A fatal ‌shark attack occurred at the Orient Beach this morning, resulting in a tragic loss of a swimmer," a spokesperson for the local municipality told Reuters. The woman was ‌swimming with a group when she indicated she was in trouble, a ‌witness told public broadcaster SABC.

"We all realised she'd been bitten by a shark, and she was in a very bad way," the witness said. "The bites were very severe, but there ⁠were ​only two, one ⁠on her thigh and one on her upper arm." He said the woman was brought back ⁠to shore, where she was declared dead on the beach.

Locals gathered near the covered body ​of the woman, which lay on a surfboard near KuGompo City's Orient ⁠Beach, a Reuters photograph showed. Eastern Cape police said officers who attended the scene found her body ⁠with ​open wounds and opened an inquest.

The species of shark involved was not immediately known. Buffalo City municipality has closed the beach and nearby Eastern ⁠Beach until further notice and urged people to exercise caution.

South Africa's coast has ⁠many shark species, ⁠but it is popularly known for great white sharks, which draw tourists worldwide for cage diving and shark-watching trips.