A 65-year-old woman died after a shark attack at Orient Beach in South Africa on the morning of October 20, 2026. The beach is in KuGompo City, formerly East London, in Eastern Cape province. Police and municipal authorities confirmed the death, the Associated Press reports.
Other swimmers brought the woman ashore
The woman was swimming when she signaled that she was in trouble. A witness told public broadcaster SABC that other swimmers brought her ashore, where she was pronounced dead. According to Reuters, the witness described severe bite wounds to her thigh and upper arm.
Reports differ on the exact time: AP cites a police response around 7 a.m., while Reuters places the incident after 8 a.m. A precise timeline has not been established.
Orient Beach and Eastern Beach closed
Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality closed Orient Beach and neighboring Eastern Beach until further notice. It also urged people at other local beaches to follow official safety instructions. Police opened an inquest into the death.
Shark species remains unknown
The shark species has not been confirmed. The featured photograph is an older view of the East London coastline, not the attack site. Neither the shark’s size nor the cause of the attack has been established.
Archive view of the East London coast from 2008; the photograph does not show the attack site. Cropped. Lysippos / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.