The 16-year-old girl who died after being mauled by a shark while swimming in Perth’s Swan River has been identified as her shattered friends and family members come to terms with her loss.
Stella Berry was a Year 11 student at Shenton College in Perth, The West Australian confirmed on Sunday.
She was pulled from the river near the Fremantle traffic bridge, south of Perth, just after 3.30pm on Saturday with significant injuries to her leg, according to reports.
Emergency services rushed to the riverbank but paramedics were unable to save her life.
WA Police confirmed just before 6pm the girl had died at the scene.
The teenager’s parents Sophie and Matt Berry issued three photos of their Stella and appealed for “space and time we need to grieve our darling girl”.
“We are devastated and deeply shocked by the loss of our beautiful daughter Stella,” they said in the statement.
“We want to acknowledge the amazing support we have received from our family, friends, authorities and the WA community.”
The couple told of the “vibrant and happy” 16-year-old’s plans to live in Europe after she finished school.
“She was a caring person and was a dear friend to many, across a variety of schools in the area,” they said.
“She had an infectious laugh which we couldn’t help laughing at too when we heard it. Our thoughts are with Stella’s many friends at this time.”
They also shared her passion for art, spending time with her friends and her love of the river and the beach. Stella had her skipper’s ticket and “often took friends out on the river for a day of scurfing.”
“She was a beautiful and loving big sister and the best daughter we could have hoped for,” the couple said.
Her friends, who gathered on the bank of the river on Sunday, have remembered Stella as smart and kind with a keen interest in running.
Her friend, Lara Connolly, described her as the “sweetest and smartest girl that I knew” and said she “never did anything wrong to anybody,” ABC Newsreported.
“She was so kind. She loved art. I’d ride my bike to see her sometimes and I’d see her running,” Connolly said.
Another friend, Teagan McArthur, said Ms Berry’s death “doesn’t feel real”.
“We were all in contact with her less than 24 hours ago and now she’s not here with us.”
The school sent an email to parents on Sunday morning, offering its condolences to Stella’s family.
“It is with great sadness, sincere empathy and the deepest regret that I write to inform you that Stella Berry (Year 11) … tragically lost her life on Saturday 4th February in an incident at the river in North Fremantle,” Principal Michael Morgan wrote.
“I have personally offered, on behalf of the college, our condolences and support to Stella’s family during this very sad time.”
Police said the girl had been riding jet skis with friends.
“It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and obviously, anyone that knew the young girl,” Fremantle District Acting Inspector Paul Robinson told reporters.
“What we’re being advised is she was with friends on the river, they were on jet skis. It was possibly a pod of dolphins seen nearby and the young female jumped in the water to swim nearby the dolphins.”
Acting Inspector Robinson said the girl’s family were not present at the time and were “absolutely devastated by the news”.
“However her friends were and as you can imagine this is an extremely traumatic incident for anyone to witness so obviously, we’re offering counselling services to anyone who did witness it or is affected by the incident,” he said.
A witness earlier told The West Australian the teen had been rope swinging with her friends off the traffic bridge.
“The girl jumped off the rope swing and then a bull shark pulled her under and then her boyfriend tried to like help her get out,” a boy told the newspaper. “And she passed away on the beach.”
Another local resident told the ABC she heard children screaming and went out to see what was happening.
She said the girl’s injury was “like nothing I’ve seen before”.
Several witnesses said a man jumped into the water to try to help the girl, describing him as a “hero”.
It’s the first shark attack in the Swan River since Perth man Cameron Wrathall was bitten on his leg in January 2021.
At the time, Wrathall was the first person to be attacked since 1968.
WA Fisheries Minister Don Punch expressed his condolences to Berry’s family.
“I am incredibly saddened by what has happened and I cannot begin to imagine what the victim’s family and friends are going through,” he said in a statement, per The West Australian.
“We offer them our support but understand they will need time and space as they deal with this tragedy.”