A swimmer was fatally savaged by a shark off the coast of South Africa — despite wearing a magnetic repellent band to ward off ocean predators.
Janine Lochrenberg, 65, a retired medical physicist, was swimming with her local open-water club around 8 a.m. Tuesday off Orient Beach in KuGumo City when the beast attacked her, according to the BBC.
Witnesses say Lochrenberg was bitten on her thigh and upper arm and bled out in the water before fellow swimmers could pull her back to shore.
Members of her club told the outlet that Lochrenberg was wearing a repellent band on her ankle – which is meant to ward sharks off by distorting their sense of electroreception.
Lochrenberg’s sister Margot revealed that she was holding her sister’s head in her final moments as she was rushed to shore – but believes she bled out in the water.
She told the outlet that her sibling “loved the water so much” and was aware of the “elevated shark presence” in the area.
“She’d made peace with that,” Margot explained. “She had a deep affinity with the water and was a remarkable person.”
The South African swimmer’s partner, Barbara Briceland, remembered her as lively, intelligent and discerning.
“She was highly intelligent, lots of fun, kind, in a quietish way, thoughtful, well-loved with a love of life,” Briceland told the BBC.
The couple was reportedly looking forward to retiring and going on a road trip.
The attack was the first recorded in South Africa this year.
