Victim was attacked by two sharks
By Yvonne Tahana of the NZ Herald,
Mon, 4 Mar 2013
A bronze whaler shark and a great white were both involved in the death of swimmer Adam Strange at Muriwai Beach last week, according to the chairman of the Muriwai Volunteer Lifeguard Service.
Tim Jago was in charge of coordinating the lifeguard response to the fatal attack, and it was also up to him to formally identify the 46-year-old’s body.
He excused himself from the funeral service being held this afternoon at the surf club to give a detailed account of the attack by the two species.
It was important to all involved that the exact chronology of events was put on the record, he said.
The two sharks involved were initially a bronze whaler and then a white pointer, said Mr Jago.
He said Mr Strange had phoned lifeguards at 12.36pm to say he intended to make a training swim a couple of times from Maori Bay to Muriwai’s main beach.
Lifeguards saw him complete the first swim, then walk back along the track to Maori Bay.
At 1.15pm Mr Strange entered the water, Mr Jago said. “Almost immediately Adam was subjected to the first of two shark attacks by what we now know to have been a bronze whaler shark.
“It is apparent that Adam unwittingly swam into one or more sharks feeding in shallow waters close to shore.
“Within a very short space of time – 90 seconds – Adam was subjected to a second and fatal shark attack; this time by a white pointer.”
Mr Jago said from the extent of Mr Stranger’s injuries, his death was almost instant.
The white pointer then carried Mr Strange’s body 300 to 400 metres towards the main beach.
Two lifeguards attempted a rescue, driving an inflatable boat into the white pointer and clubbing it with a paddle.
The pair realised Mr Strange was dead and decided it was too dangerous for them to remain because there were other sharks in the area.
Soon afterwards two more rescue craft were deployed and police fired 12 shots at the shark, as it was still “harassing the body”.
Mr Jago said an analysis of video footage by emergency services gave him confidence the shark had been killed by the gunfire.
He said he understood there were a number of unique characteristics which had driven interest in the incident.
“Firstly the event was witnessed from start to finish. Secondly there has been a response to try and save Adam, something that’s not often possible in shark attacks. Moreover we have Adam back, and that is not often the outcome in such events.
“Thirdly, there has only been one previously documented situation where a white pointer shark has operated in conjunction with a bronze whaler to attack a human.”
Source: Otago Daily Times
Video below:
Uploaded by itnnews on 04.03.2013:
Hundreds of people have lined the streets holding surf boards for the funeral of Adam Strange, who was killed by a shark in New Zealand. . Report by Sophie Foster.
[youtube SlWKXGWcfnY]
What a load of rubbish… this guy wouldnt know the facts if he fell over them!.. There is no way in hell a bronzie attacked him and then 90 seconds later he happened to be attacked again this time by a great white!.. The great white is the only one that would have attacked him in this manner!!.. While other sharks may have shown up after the attack and resulting blood, they quickly left and did not lay a tooth on the victim. The single great white was the only attacker from start to finish! The police did not fire 12 rounds they fired 32 rounds. They were not fired at a group of sharks in a feeding frenzy, they were fired at one great white shark to get it off the body to enable recovery. Get your facts right… painful to read! This is how sharks (bronzies in particular) get a bad reputation. From a person that knows more about the event than this guy..
Bronzies in particular get bad reps? One ate the swimmer in Tathra……
Not a great white, a white pointer, totally different species… get to know your sharks.
@anonymous….what kind of ammo did they use to shoot at the shark? Was it .223 or 5.56 Nato rounds? When I saw pictures and video of the scene I thought I saw a police officer with an AR style rifle jumping into a dingy. A Great White has some thick skin an they only thing that would have worked imo to deliver some some serious kinetic energy to dissuade the shark from hanging around the attack site is a 12 gauge shotgun with 3″ Magnum rifled slugs
Knob head. .223 and 5.56 is the same round you numpty.
It’s technically the same round but they’re designated for different rifles. You can’t fire 5.56mm ammo in a 223 rifle you can however fire 223 in a 5.56mm chamber.
The military 5.56mm ammo is loaded to a higher pressure. This in a rifle chambered for a 223 rem would cause an over pressure event and COULD cause a failure of the rifle.