/ 23 February 2000

GREAT WHITE STRIKES SOUTH OF CAPE TOWN

A GREAT White shark tore a chunk of flesh and bone from the foot of a man in shallow water at Struisbaai, about 150km southeast of Cape Town,Die Burger newspaper reported on Tuesday. The 2,5m shark attacked 29-year-old Hellmuth Weich in water scarcely a meter deep. Shark attacks on humans in South African waters have increased in the past few years, with at least five attacks recorded last year and 15 in 1998, including one death. Attacks have been unheard of in Struisbaai, where the sea water is generally to cold for sharks, but the National Sea Rescue Institute said it had recently spotted killer sharks in the bay.