An award-winning film and TV director was today mauled to death by a Great White shark as he swam off a popular New Zealand tourist beach.
Adam Strange, 46, was attacked and pulled under water about 200metres from Auckland’s Muriwai Beach at around 1.30pm in front of hundreds of beach tourists.
Up to three more sharks were said to have been drawn to the attack as police officers fired at least 20 shots from a lifeboat and helicopter in a desperate bid to rescue him.
The Great White eventually let go and moved away. It took rescuers – including three lifeguards who knew the victim - 30 minutes to retrieve the father-of-one’s body.
The remains of a shark were later dragged up on the beach.
Mr Strange's family - said by police to be 'utterly distraught' - today described the father-of-one film-maker as a 'glorious and great father, husband and friend'.
His wife Meg was last night being comforted by friends and neighbours, who brought flowers to their home, not far from the Muriwai beach.
Pio Mose, who was fishing off rocks beside the beach, described how he saw a ‘huge’ shark attack the lone swimmer 50 yards from where he was standing.
‘All of a sudden we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him and then blood everywhere on the water,' told stuff.co.nz.
He told how the man appeared to struggle with the shark before it swam away – and then it, and others, came back.
Mr Mose called the police on his mobile while a friend ran to get help.
‘He was still alive. He put his head up. We called him to swim over the rock to where we were.'
‘He raised his hand up and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack and pull him in the water.
‘He came back up. His head was on the water…then we notice he was already dead’
Mr Mosie said as blood spilled out over the water, more sharks started swimming around the area.
The fisherman and other anglers watched as the shark carried the man’s body out to sea.
‘It’s awful – it’s scary, like a nightmare to me. I was shaking, scared, panicked.’
Mr Mosie, who said he had never seen sharks in the area during the three years he’d been fishing in that spot, added: ‘All I was thinking was I wanted to jump in the water and help but I didn’t want to get attacked by a shark, too.’
Wellington student, Stef McCallum, 18, said people were first aware something was wrong when a man ran across to the surf club to get help.
‘A woman told us a man had just been killed by a shark’, she said. ‘She said there was a big pool of blood in the water.’
Miss McCallum said they saw a police officer go out in a surf boat and shoot the shark.
Inspector Shawn Rutene said he could not confirm whether the shark that was shot was involved in the initial attack.
Muriwai Surf Lifesaving chairman Tim Jago said the three lifeguards helping police, two aged in their twenties and one in his forties, knew the victim.
Lifeguards were shocked by the size of the shark, he added. Beaches north of Manukau Harbour will be closed for the next two days, including Piha and Muriwai beaches.
Helicopters will patrol the area until tomorrow morning and lifeguards will have a strong presence.
Mr Jago said they have used every available 'closed' beach sign to alert beachgoers. The risk would be reassessed in two days.
Police were unable to confirm the species of shark, but environmental department officials confirmed Great Whites had been spotted in the area as recently as the weekend.
Earlier this week, surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski posted on Facebook that there had been a ‘massiv’ shark spotted near on Monday at Piha, south of Muriwai.
He said that a local man ran out of the water ‘white-faced and terrified’.
‘He was saying that a Great White, a massive Great White had just swum right beside him,’ he said adding that no-one believed the report.
‘As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in.’
Adventure-loving Mr Strange says on his website that one of his short films, Aphrodite’s Farm, had been in 10 international film festivals in seven countries and last year won the Crystal Bear award for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival.
He has also been a finalist at the London International Awards. His wife Meg was last night being comforted at her home, not far from the beach.
Mr Strange’s family, some of whom live overseas, said in a statement that Mr Strange was a ‘glorious’ person, a ‘great father, husband and friend.’
On his website, Mr Strange gave an indication of his love of the outdoors
‘When I get a spare five minutes,’ he wrote, ‘I like to make a fruit smoothy, surf some big waves out on the West Coast (of Auckland) point my skis down a mountain with Meg, haul my mountain bike up and down a few hills, drink some Pinot while scratching away at a film script.’
Shark attacks are a rarity off the beaches of New Zealand.
Police did not say what species of shark was involved in the attack. Clinton Duffy, a shark expert with the Department of Conservation, said New Zealand was a hotspot for great white sharks, and other potentially lethal species also inhabit the waters.
Mr Duffy estimated that only 12 to 14 people have been killed by sharks in New Zealand since record-keeping began in the 1830s.
'There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia,' he said. 'It's possibly a function of how many people are in the water' in New Zealand's cooler climate.
He said that during the Southern Hemisphere summer, sharks often come in closer to shore to feed and to give birth, although that doesn't necessarily equate to a greater risk of attack.
'Ninety-nine per cent of the time they ignore people,' he said. 'Sometimes, people get bitten.'
Around the world, sharks attacked humans 80 times last year, and seven people were killed, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.
The death toll was lower than it was in 2011 but higher than the average of 4.4 from 2001 to 2010.
The last death was in 2009, when a kayaker was mauled by a great white in the Coromandel - whether he drowned before the shark found him is still disputed. Before that the last death was in 1976.
Global shark attacks have increased every decade since 1900. Last year's 12 fatalities, three in Australia, was almost three times the average of 4.3 from 2001 to 2010, according to the International Shark Attack File.
There are more than 60 shark species that come to New Zealand waters. The majority are little-known species that live deep below the ocean surface.
Adam Strange, 46, was attacked and pulled under water about 200metres from Auckland’s Muriwai Beach at around 1.30pm in front of hundreds of beach tourists.
Up to three more sharks were said to have been drawn to the attack as police officers fired at least 20 shots from a lifeboat and helicopter in a desperate bid to rescue him.
The Great White eventually let go and moved away. It took rescuers – including three lifeguards who knew the victim - 30 minutes to retrieve the father-of-one’s body.
The remains of a shark were later dragged up on the beach.
Mr Strange's family - said by police to be 'utterly distraught' - today described the father-of-one film-maker as a 'glorious and great father, husband and friend'.
His wife Meg was last night being comforted by friends and neighbours, who brought flowers to their home, not far from the Muriwai beach.
Pio Mose, who was fishing off rocks beside the beach, described how he saw a ‘huge’ shark attack the lone swimmer 50 yards from where he was standing.
‘All of a sudden we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him and then blood everywhere on the water,' told stuff.co.nz.
He told how the man appeared to struggle with the shark before it swam away – and then it, and others, came back.
Mr Mose called the police on his mobile while a friend ran to get help.
‘He was still alive. He put his head up. We called him to swim over the rock to where we were.'
‘He raised his hand up and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack and pull him in the water.
‘He came back up. His head was on the water…then we notice he was already dead’
Mr Mosie said as blood spilled out over the water, more sharks started swimming around the area.
The fisherman and other anglers watched as the shark carried the man’s body out to sea.
‘It’s awful – it’s scary, like a nightmare to me. I was shaking, scared, panicked.’
Mr Mosie, who said he had never seen sharks in the area during the three years he’d been fishing in that spot, added: ‘All I was thinking was I wanted to jump in the water and help but I didn’t want to get attacked by a shark, too.’
Wellington student, Stef McCallum, 18, said people were first aware something was wrong when a man ran across to the surf club to get help.
‘A woman told us a man had just been killed by a shark’, she said. ‘She said there was a big pool of blood in the water.’
Miss McCallum said they saw a police officer go out in a surf boat and shoot the shark.
Inspector Shawn Rutene said he could not confirm whether the shark that was shot was involved in the initial attack.
Muriwai Surf Lifesaving chairman Tim Jago said the three lifeguards helping police, two aged in their twenties and one in his forties, knew the victim.
Lifeguards were shocked by the size of the shark, he added. Beaches north of Manukau Harbour will be closed for the next two days, including Piha and Muriwai beaches.
Helicopters will patrol the area until tomorrow morning and lifeguards will have a strong presence.
Mr Jago said they have used every available 'closed' beach sign to alert beachgoers. The risk would be reassessed in two days.
Police were unable to confirm the species of shark, but environmental department officials confirmed Great Whites had been spotted in the area as recently as the weekend.
Earlier this week, surfer Bourne Nobel Buiski posted on Facebook that there had been a ‘massiv’ shark spotted near on Monday at Piha, south of Muriwai.
He said that a local man ran out of the water ‘white-faced and terrified’.
‘He was saying that a Great White, a massive Great White had just swum right beside him,’ he said adding that no-one believed the report.
‘As they are so rare here. There were about 60 people there, and no one came in.’
Adventure-loving Mr Strange says on his website that one of his short films, Aphrodite’s Farm, had been in 10 international film festivals in seven countries and last year won the Crystal Bear award for Best Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival.
He has also been a finalist at the London International Awards. His wife Meg was last night being comforted at her home, not far from the beach.
Mr Strange’s family, some of whom live overseas, said in a statement that Mr Strange was a ‘glorious’ person, a ‘great father, husband and friend.’
On his website, Mr Strange gave an indication of his love of the outdoors
‘When I get a spare five minutes,’ he wrote, ‘I like to make a fruit smoothy, surf some big waves out on the West Coast (of Auckland) point my skis down a mountain with Meg, haul my mountain bike up and down a few hills, drink some Pinot while scratching away at a film script.’
Shark attacks are a rarity off the beaches of New Zealand.
Police did not say what species of shark was involved in the attack. Clinton Duffy, a shark expert with the Department of Conservation, said New Zealand was a hotspot for great white sharks, and other potentially lethal species also inhabit the waters.
Mr Duffy estimated that only 12 to 14 people have been killed by sharks in New Zealand since record-keeping began in the 1830s.
'There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia,' he said. 'It's possibly a function of how many people are in the water' in New Zealand's cooler climate.
He said that during the Southern Hemisphere summer, sharks often come in closer to shore to feed and to give birth, although that doesn't necessarily equate to a greater risk of attack.
'Ninety-nine per cent of the time they ignore people,' he said. 'Sometimes, people get bitten.'
Around the world, sharks attacked humans 80 times last year, and seven people were killed, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.
The death toll was lower than it was in 2011 but higher than the average of 4.4 from 2001 to 2010.
The last death was in 2009, when a kayaker was mauled by a great white in the Coromandel - whether he drowned before the shark found him is still disputed. Before that the last death was in 1976.
Global shark attacks have increased every decade since 1900. Last year's 12 fatalities, three in Australia, was almost three times the average of 4.3 from 2001 to 2010, according to the International Shark Attack File.
There are more than 60 shark species that come to New Zealand waters. The majority are little-known species that live deep below the ocean surface.
Source : DailyMail
Comments
Post a Comment