A “devoted and loving” British grandmother from Chester has been killed in a shark attack off the coast of Australia, according to reports.
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On Sunday 60-year-old Iluka woman Doreen Collyer died after being attacked by a shark off Mindarie.
In yesterday’s incident, the woman’s dive partner told police they were in the water together when he felt something brush past him.
The woman is believed to have died from her injuries before they arrived back at Mindarie Marina boat ramp.
While the cause of the woman’s death has not officially been determined, the state’s Department of Fisheries agrees with police that the death could be a shark attack and has sent a boat to investigate.
The brother of 29-year-old Ben Gerring thanked the “heroes” who brought him to shore after the attack and the staff at Royal Perth Hospital, where he died on Friday night.
Her diving partner, a 43-year-old male, said she was a “phenomenal diver”.
Fisheries official Tony Cappelluti said if a shark matching the description of the one that attacked the diver was captured, it was “highly likely we will take the decision to destroy it in the interests of public safety”.
West Australian (WA) authorities are dealing with yet another shark-related fatality.
It is not known what species of shark was involved.
It is the first time that two consecutive shark attacks have occurred in Western Australia within such a short period of time.
A large shark was caught by baited drum lines on Wednesday, close to the site where Mr Gerring was attacked, then towed further out to sea where it drowned.
Estimated at 14-feet, the shark had reportedly been seen swimming off multiple beaches in the area before the attack took place.
In an interview with AFP, State Premier Colin Barnett said: “The policy did not prove effective in catching great whites and the great white shark was principally the problem”.
He said the sooner the WA government and public accepted that shark encounters and attacks were a constant, long-term issue, the better.
He was opposed to the hunt for the shark, saying killing one shark was not going to achieve anything.
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The safest approach was to use patrolled beaches, he said.
