DURBAN – Reports of a drowning led to the shocking discovery of a man’s body with shark bites in La Lucia on Friday afternoon.
Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said they received a call of a drowning off Lady Ellen Crescent in La Lucia at 4.36pm.
“Reports indicate that while walking on the beach, a man came across the decomposing body of an adult male lying face down among flotsam that had washed up,” Herbst said.
“A second body was also found on the shore, but was washed back out to sea by the strong surf before lifeguards arrived on the scene.
“When paramedics turned the body over for assessment, it was found that a portion of the right upper arm and the right chest area was missing, with multiple shark bite marks clearly visible,” said Herbst.
He said responding to the scene were Netcare 911, Durban Metro’s search- and-rescue unit, eThekwini Lifeguards, Marshall Security, the SAPS’s search-and-rescue divers and START Rescue services.
“The authorities are still to determine the cause of death by means of a post-mortem, but it is believed the deceased had been predated on after the drowning,” said Herbst.
He said the body was handed over to the Durban North SAPS for further investigation.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said an inquest docket was being investigated by Durban North SAPS.
“It is alleged that on April 1, 2022, at 4:40pm, a decomposed body of a male was found washed out by sea at Glen Ashley Beach. The circumstances surrounding the incident are being investigated,” Gwala said.
It is believed that this was the second body to have been recovered with shark bite marks along the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, since the start of the year.
In January, police revealed that the body of a missing teenager pulled from the water off Blythedale Beach had shark bites.
In a tweet, police said Durban SAPS search-and-rescue divers, along with Umhlali SAPS’s K9 search and rescue unit, KwaDukuza Lifeguards and IPSS Medical Rescue services continued their search for the victim.
“The body of a 19-year-old male with shark bites was recovered from the shoreline. An inquest docket has been opened,” the SAPS said.
At the time, IPSS Medical Rescue services said the teenager went into the sea with friends after lifeguards had gone off duty. He reportedly got into difficulty before disappearing from sight.
Daily News