WA shark attack: Swan River swimmer reveals final moments of girl before she was mauled to death

A teenager has revealed the final moments of a 16-year-old girl before she was mauled to death by a shark in a ‘completely random attack’. 

The girl, who has not been named, is believed to have been jet skiing with her friends when she spotted a pod of dolphins in the Swan River in North Fremantle, Western Australia, at 3.30pm on Saturday.

She dived into the water and was swimming with the animals when she was attacked by the shark as her horrified friends watched on.

Perth local, Joshua Banks, 16, was rope swinging with six friends nearby before the gruesome attack unfolded. 

A teenage girl was mauled to death by a shark at Swan River in North Fremantle on Saturday in what eyewitness Joshua Banks described as a ‘completely random attack’ 

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The girl is believed to have been swimming with dolphins when she was attacked by the shark

‘Me and my mates Jacob and Harry saw them – we actually watched them pass through the bridge as we (were) rope swinging,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

‘They passed and we saw them get off the jet skis near the beach and jump off and swim to the shore quickly.’

The teen described what he saw as a ‘completely random attack’ and said he and his friends were left ‘shaken’ by the event. 

‘We were completely unaware of this attack and had been swimming and jumping off for about an hour to 45 minutes,’ he said.

He added that his friends were ‘aware it could’ve been us’ instead.

Witnesses told police that a man bravely dived into the water to pull the teenage girl out, describing him as a ‘hero’, but paramedics were unable to save her.   

Mr Banks was rope swinging with a group of mates close by and saw the teen girl and her friends on jet skis before they jumped into the water

Witnesses told police that a man bravely dived into the water to pull the tragic teen out. However, paramedics were unable to save her

A local who saw the 16-year-old die after being mauled by what is believed to be a bull shark said she heard people screaming before the man jumped in.

The girl’s family and friends were seen in a state of shock near the river after she was pulled out.  

Emergency services, including police boats, rushed to the scene near the Fremantle traffic bridge and she was pulled out of the water with severe leg injuries. 

Amid a string of reports, WA Police initially thought that she may have been injured by a boat propeller.

A local, who saw the 16-year-old die being mauled by what is believed to be a bull shark, said she heard people screaming before the man jumped in

WA Police said they received a triple zero call about 3.30pm and emergency services rushed to the scene

Fremantle District Acting Inspector Paul Robinson described the incident as ‘traumatic’.

‘It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries.

‘It is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river … at this point in time an alert has been put out, a shark warning just to let people know this incident has taken place.

‘What we’ve been advised issues with friends on the river, they were on Jet Skis, there was possibly a pod of dolphins been seen nearby, and the young female jumped in the water to swim nearby the dolphins.’ 

Police didn’t go into details about her injuries and did not confirm what species of shark was involved in the attack. 

It is the first fatal shark attack in the Swan River in a century. 

The 16-year-old girl is understood to have been attacked by a bull shark (stock image)