Friday, February 7, 2025
.svg)
Charlize Zmuda, a 17-year-old girl who was swimming off Woorim Beach, a beach on Bribie Island, was bitten by a shark around 4:45 p.m. AEST (0645 UTC) on Monday. Despite attempts at rescuing her, she succumbed to her injuries at 5:00 p.m. AEST (0700 UTC) according to police. When the attack occurred, Surf Life Saving Queensland officers were present at Woorim Beach, and helped paramedics.
A report has been set up for the coroner by police.
The attack follows two other shark attacks in the Australian state of Queensland which occurred fewer than three months ago, one of which was also fatal.
A day after the fatal attack, Zmuda’s father spoke out about the attack. “When I got the tragic news yesterday, I was extremely gutted, but something that my wife and I want to say is we don’t want people to stop coming to the beach and enjoying our beach. It’s a big part of our lives,” Mr. Zmuda said.
On the same day, flowers were placed throughout Woorim Beach, and green balloons were released into the air to commemorate Zmuda.
Sources
[edit]
- Molly Slattery, Arianna Levy. “Bribie Island community mourns 17-year-old shark attack victim Charlize Zmuda” — ABC News, February 4, 2025
- Daisy Dumas. “Teenager dies after being bitten by shark off south-east Queensland, police confirm” — The Guardian, February 3, 2025
- Josh Hohne. “Teenage girl dead after shark attack at Queensland’s Bribie Island” — Nine News, February 3, 2025
