By JO-ANNE SMETHERHAM
The close-knit Fish Hoek community in Cape Town was in shock after a popular local resident, Tyna Webb, 77, was killed by a shark during her daily swim.
It was the first fatal shark attack in the area in over a century.
Webb was one of a group of stalwarts
who swam every morning at Fish Hoek all year round. She was a strong swimmer and would disregard the warnings of family and friends to swim hundreds of metres out to sea.
The attack happened about 150m from the shore. Afterwards, a small crowd gazed out to sea in shock.
Several eyewitnesses among them said the shark was about 6m long.
Many in the crowd knew Webb and several had swum with her in the mornings.
Fellow swimmer Carla Reiman said: "I had just arrived on the beach and saw the trek fishermen waving a flag and shouting from the watchpoint on the mountain.
"From the beach, I saw the fin, then the whole shark, coming out of the water. It thrashed around. Everybody was screaming and shouting.
"We are a group who swim here every morning. I don't know that I want to be doing this any longer. We're dumbstruck."
Brian de Jager, who works at Sunny Cove Manor, would greet Webb every morning as he strolled along Jager's Walk on his way to buy the newspaper.
"This morning I took my usual walk and I saw Tyna swimming," he said.
"The next minute, I saw this fin coming through the water, and then the discoloration in the water.
"It was so quick - it was only around 30 seconds then it was all finished."
Fisherman Jeffrey Andries saw the attack through binoculars from the fishermen's lookout on Elsies Peak. He waved a flag to alert the beachgoers - as he had done when he spotted sharks the previous day.
"I saw the lady doing backstroke. She was swimming directly into the path of the shark. Then I saw splashes. The shark turned, then pulled her down under the water."
A red bathing cap believed to have belonged to Webb was found soon after the attack.
The day before, lifesavers had told swimmers to get out of the water after fishermen saw sharks.
- INDEPENDENT GROUP
