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Police and municipal officials confirmed that a 65-year-old woman died after a shark attacked her in the water at Orient Beach in KuGompo City, formerly known as East London, on Tuesday. Officers arrived at the scene around 7 a.m. to find the victim with severe open wounds to her right arm and thigh, according to Eastern Cape police spokesperson Col. Siphokazi Mawisa. Fellow swimmers who were in the water with her at the time responded to her distress signals and brought her ashore, where a medic attempted resuscitation without success. The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality identified the victim as Janine Lochrenberg, a retired nuclear radiographer and musician who was an active member of the local open-water swimming community.
Lochrenberg had been swimming with a group after 8 a.m. when she indicated she was in trouble, a witness told state broadcaster SABC. Mike Loewe, a fellow swimmer and journalist, said the group realised she had been bitten and rushed to assist, adding that the injuries appeared to come from one or two severe bites. He described her as courageous and noted that she liked to swim solo despite regularly joining the group. Lochrenberg was wearing a magnetic shark deterrent bracelet at the time, but it had no apparent effect, Loewe told local media.
The municipality issued a statement expressing deep sadness over the loss and announced the immediate closure of Orient Beach and nearby Eastern Beach until further notice. Municipal spokesman Luzuko Buku urged beachgoers to exercise extreme caution, refrain from entering the water at affected sites and remain vigilant at other local beaches while complying with all safety advisories. Police have opened an inquest into the death at KuGompo station, and her body was transferred to State Forensic Pathology Services, Mawisa said. The victim’s name was released only after her family had been informed, according to multiple local reports.
Lochrenberg had recently retired from her position as a nuclear radiographer at Frere Hospital and was well known in the East London swimming community, where her partner and friends were present at the scene. She had been living near Nahoon Beach and participated regularly in open-water activities with the East London Open Water Swimmers Association. The incident has devastated those who knew her, with Loewe telling SABC that her death leaves a significant void in the group that enjoyed her company and shared passion for the sea.
Shark Data Lab records show that South Africa has documented 533 shark attacks between 1852 and 2025, of which 109 proved fatal, with the white shark most frequently implicated. The Eastern Cape province accounts for a substantial portion of these incidents, including multiple fatal cases at beaches near East London and Jeffreys Bay over the past two decades, according to the International Shark Attack File maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History. Fatal encounters remain uncommon despite the country’s extensive coastline and popularity for shark-related tourism, with an overall unprovoked bite fatality rate of around 30 percent. This latest case marks one of the few swimmer fatalities recorded in the region in recent years.
The attack prompted swift action from local authorities to review safety measures at popular swimming spots along the southeastern coast. Warnings have been distributed to other beaches in the Buffalo City area, where officials emphasised the need for public adherence to posted advisories and avoidance of swimming during high-risk periods. Community groups have called for increased monitoring and education on shark behaviour in the wake of the event. Similar closures followed previous incidents in the Eastern Cape, where shark activity has historically concentrated around river mouths and popular surf zones.
