A teenage girl who was killed by a shark while surfing at a notorious stretch of Western Australian coast died “doing something she loved.”
Laeticia Brouwer, 17, was surfing with her father Leon at Kelp Beds, Wylie Bay, just a few kilometres from Esperance, when savaged by a yet to be identified shark on Monday.
He dragged the badly bleeding girl to shore with the help of another teenager. Police said her mother and two siblings were watching helplessly from the beach.
Ms Brouwer arrived unconscious at Esperance hospital after losing a substantial amount of blood and doctors were unable to save her.
The family from Mandurah were holidaying in Esperance and were surfing at a spot with a history of shark attacks and sightings.
Her uncle Steve Evans told the media they were heartbroken.
“The ocean was her and her family’s passion,” he said.
“The surf was something she’d do with her dad and sisters.”
Surfer Sean Pollard lost his arms in a shark attack at the same beach in 2014.
That incident prompted the Department of Fisheries to deploy drum lines. Two great white sharks were caught including one that was tagged.
But the practice was discontinued following a change of government.
New Western Australian fisheries minister Dave Kelly confirmed on Tuesday that drum lines were not being used.
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