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03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***

Listing of the Shark Attack Related Incidents occurring in 2009. 2009 Shark Attacks
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helmi
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Re: 03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***

Post by helmi »

Tiger shark may have killed surfer – scientist

2009/03/25.

THE Natal Sharks Board believes that a tiger shark may have been responsible for the fatal attack on Port St Johns surfer Luyolo Mangele , 16, on Friday.

Geremy Cliff , the executive officer for research at the Natal Sharks Board, said although there was a possibility that it may have been a Zambezi shark, he strongly suspected that a tiger shark had killed Mangele.

He said after taking measurements of the bite marks, it did not appear to be a large shark.

However, Cliff said he was sure that the shark which killed Port St Johns lifeguard Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe at Second Beach in January was of a different species.

Mangele, of Mthumbane township in Port St Johns, was the second local person to be killed in a shark attack at Second Beach this year, following the death of Bangilizwe.

Bangilizwe was also from Mthumbane township. Another Mthumbane resident, lifeguard Masiza Sibelele, was killed by a shark off Second Beach two years ago.

Sibelele was attacked twice, first in 2004 and again in 2007. His body was never recovered after he was attacked for the second time.

The attacks have triggered suspicions that traditional healers who conduct rituals and ceremonies at Second Beach may be attracting sharks. The healers allegedly throw raw meat and blood into the sea as part of their rituals.

A lifeguard told the Daily Dispatch yesterday that on Friday – the day Mangele was killed – traditional healers were seen leaving the beach in the morning.

Cliff said such rituals, if performed at the beach, had the potential of attracting sharks.

“I am not sure to what extent people are going to the beach and killing animals, and throwing blood and meat into the sea, but that does not help the situation at all,” Cliff said.

“If people go into the sea and start throwing blood, it’s likely to attract sharks.”

Zola Hewu , the municipal manager for Port St Johns Municipality, said by-laws prohibited such rituals being performed at Second Beach and other beaches.

However, in recognition of people’s beliefs, a beach had been set aside for such practices at nearby Ferry Point.

Hewu also told the Dispatch that traditional healers had been told to leave Second Beach on Friday morning, but he was not sure whether they had undertaken rituals or not.

A lifeguard for Wild Coast Guards, Sivuyile Dayimani, 19, said yesterday that during a patrol on Friday morning – hours before Mangele was killed – they found intestines at Second Beach that appeared to be from a goat or sheep.

They had also found candles and beans in the sand.

Solly Nduku, general-secretary for the National Unitary Professional Association for African Traditional Health Practitioners of South Africa, said they had advised their members not to continue performing such rituals at the beach, because they did not want to carry on with something that could endanger people’s lives. - By LUBABALO NGCUKANA, Mthatha Bureau

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=303480

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sharkbait
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Re: 03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***

Post by sharkbait »

Seconds from Port St Johns killer shark



Picture: SUPPLIED
2009/03/24
THESE pictures reveal the last moments of young Luyolo Mangele’s life
THESE pictures reveal the last moments of young Luyolo Mangele’s life
luyolo_mangele1.jpg (22.39 KiB) Viewed 24725 times
Seconds after the last picture was taken, he was attacked by a shark and died shortly afterwards.
Seconds after the last picture was taken, he was attacked by a shark and died shortly afterwards.
luyolo_mangele2.jpg (22.54 KiB) Viewed 24725 times

THESE pictures reveal the last moments of young Luyolo Mangele’s life. Seconds after the last picture was taken, he was attacked by a shark and died shortly afterwards.

Mangele, 16, was the third young man from Mthumbane township in Port St Johns to die in shark attacks at Second Beach since 2007.

Mthumbane is situated on top of a mountain near the beach. Here, swimming and surfing is the main form of recreation for its youth, some of whom even drop out of school to pursue a career in lifesaving.

Vuyo Maza, a lifeguard for the Wild Coast Guards , was on duty at Second Beach when Mangele, a surfer, was attacked by the shark. “Everything happened so fast. We had people shouting ‘Shark! Shark!’ But when we got there the shark had already struck.”

Maza, who knew Mangele, described him as a brave young man who loved the sea.

Mangele had been in a joyous mood shortly before the attack, as the pictures taken of him and other surfing friends show. The pictures were taken by an American tourist who has since left Port St Johns. Tim Whitaker, who was in the sea with Mangele when he was attacked, described Mangele as a quiet and dedicated surfer. “We had an interesting encounter (just before the attack); we caught a wave together and we almost crashed. We both laughed and continued to surf; there was beautiful surf out there and we all enjoyed it,” Whitaker said.

He said he was now too scared to surf at Second Beach following Mangele’s death.

Maza, who also witnessed a friend and co- lifeguard, Masiza Sibulele being attacked by a shark in 2007 for the second time, said the attacks had left him devastated.

“I have lost friends in these waters,” he said while pointing at the ocean, fighting hard to hold back tears.

In 2004 Sibulele, also from Mthumbane, was the first local to be attacked by a shark. He narrowly escaped death.

However, he died when he was again attacked in 2007. His body was never found, and only one of his flippers was recovered, in which were bite marks believed to be made by a tiger shark .

In January, another lifeguard was killed by a shark at Second Beach. Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe , who lived a stone’s throw from Mangele’s home, was attacked by a Zambezi shark while swimming with friends. His body was torn to pieces.

Mangele’s mother, Nompilo Mangele , 38, was still in deep shock yesterday when the Dispatch spoke to her at her home in Mthumbane.

“This was the biggest loss of my life, a very disturbing and painful experience. Words alone cannot describe how I feel right now,” she said.

On top of her pain, she was unhappy about the Port St Johns Municipality’s lack of compassion for her loss.

“I am yet to get a visit from the municipality about this. I thought they would take some of the responsibility; they did not even have warning signs at the beach before the attack,” she said.

She did not rule out taking legal action against the municipality if it did not accept that it was partly responsible for her son’s death.

When the Dispatch visited Second Beach, about 10 small sign boards had been erected there, with the words “Do not swim here, shark attacks”.

“Close to the shore you cannot get sharks, but out deeper there are sharks,” said Port St Johns municipal manager Zola Hewu said. Hewu said the beach would be closed for two weeks while a probe into the attacks was held. - By LUBABALO NGCUKANA

Mthatha Bureau

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=303273
sharkbait
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Re: 03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***

Post by sharkbait »

A TOP team of scientists will be appointed to look into another fatal shark attack, which claimed the life of a teenager at Port St Johns’ scenic Second Beach at the weekend.***


Top team to probe shark influx
SHARK MANAGEMENT: Wild Coast lifeguard Mongezi Geli erects shark warning flags on the beach at Port St Johns on Saturday following the second fatal shark attack in the area in two months. Picture: ORYX MULTIMEDIA
SHARK MANAGEMENT: Wild Coast lifeguard Mongezi Geli erects shark warning flags on the beach at Port St Johns on Saturday following the second fatal shark attack in the area in two months. Picture: ORYX MULTIMEDIA
luyolo_mangeni.jpg (12.12 KiB) Viewed 24791 times
SHARK MANAGEMENT: Wild Coast lifeguard Mongezi Geli erects shark warning flags on the beach at Port St Johns on Saturday following the second fatal shark attack in the area in two months. Picture: ORYX MULTIMEDIA
2009/03/23

A TOP team of scientists will be appointed to look into another fatal shark attack, which claimed the life of a teenager at Port St Johns’ scenic Second Beach at the weekend.

It was the second lethal attack at the beach within two months, and a government investigation will be launched into why the once-safe beach has become so deadly.

Luyolo Mangeni, 17, died less than half an hour after he was dragged from the water late on Friday afternoon with massive shark bite injuries .

The species involved in the attack is not yet known.

Mangeni was surfing with four other men when the shark attacked around 4pm.

He is the third person to have died in a shark attack in recent years and the second in months, following the attack on lifesaver Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe in late January.

Now, the OR Tambo District Municipality, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have decided to appoint a team of scientists to probe the attacks. They have also closed Second Beach to swimming for two weeks following Friday’s attack.

Director-General of Environment Affairs Nosipho Ngcaba said that within the next two weeks she would consult with a team of scientists to ask them to investigate.

“We have discovered that in the mouth of Mzimvubu River there is “black water”, which might be the cause of sharks coming into the coastal area,” Ngcaba added.

Ngcaba said the task team – which will be made up of Natal Sharks Board and provincial scientists – would also look at whether conditions in Port St Johns were conducive to attracting sharks to the area.

The Daily Dispatch in the past has carried reports about poor sanitation in the town and a breakdown in the sewerage system, leading to sewage spillages into the nearby river.

There were also allegations that people were slaughtering cattle and goats for ritual purposes and throwing blood and offal into the sea, attracting sharks.

“The scientists will then give us recommendations of how best we can deal with the situation ,” Ngcaba said.

But Ngcaba ruled out the possibility of installing shark nets at Second Beach.

She recommended that “high ground shark monitors” be put in place to spot sharks as they approached bathers.

Meanwhile, the community of Port St Johns has called on tourists not to be put off by the attacks and visit the scenic town and its beaches.

Amapondo Backpackers co- owner Annie Oakley, whose business is close to where Luyolo was attacked, encouraged tourists to continue to frequent the area.

“This is a rare attack although it has happened twice in a period of three months. Also our guests understand that there is always the possibility of a shark attack if they swim in the ocean, which happens all over the world,” Oakley said.

Her husband, Tim Whitaker, witnessed Friday’s attack.

Local resident John Costello said guests at his Outspan Inn understood the risk of entering the sea. He supported the idea of high-ground shark spotters.

OR Tambo Municipality manager Bruce Kannemeyer said the number of lifeguards had been increased to eight at Second Beach.

“We have also deployed coastal patrollers to put up flags that warn people about shark attack. The beach has also been closed,” he said.

However, Daily Dispatch reporter Lubabalo Ngcukana, who was holidaying at Second Beach, said despite the closing of the beach and warnings, people were still swimming there yesterday.

Lifeguard and team leader Gerald Mtakati said: “We are afraid for our lives.

“The bathers are swimming at their own risk.” - By BONGANI HANS and LULAMILE FENI

Mthatha Bureau


http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=302958
sharkbait
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03/22/2009 Luyolo Mangele ( South Africa ) ***Fatal***

Post by sharkbait »

Luyolo Mangele was attacked on Saturday afternoon by what is believed to be a Zambezi shark. A teenager has died at Port St Johns after being bitten on the leg by a shark.***



Teen dies after shark attack
22/03/2009 22:03 - (SA)


Norman Silke and Stephanie Saville

Port St Johns - A teenager has died at Port St Johns after being bitten on the leg by a shark.

Concerns have been raised that heightened shark activity in the area may be due to the influx of sewage-loaded water from a river.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said the teenager had died after being bitten by a shark while surfing off Second Beach, Port St Johns.

Sixteen-year-old development surfer Luyolo Mangele was attacked on Saturday afternoon by what is believed to be a Zambezi shark.

Luyolo, from the Mtumbane township, had decided to hit the surf with other members of the Iliza-surf academy.

Michael Gatcke, manager of the academy, said on Sunday that it was a perfect day for surfing.

Just before the incident, there were just three surfers in the deeper water, including Luyolo, he said.

Gatcke said someone began to scream and the next moment a huge red spot was seen around Luyolo's surfboard.

Luyolo made for shore but lost consciousness in the shallow water. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

In January 2007 Sibulele Masiza was killed by a tiger shark. His body was never found.

District municipal manager Bruce Kannemeyer told The Witness that experts would investigate the possibility that a high level of sewage from the Umzimvubu River, which flows into the bay at Port St Johns, may be responsible for the increased shark activity in the area.

He said water samples had been taken from the river for analysis. Another swimmer died after being attacked by a shark at Port St Johns in January.

Authorities have increased the number of life-savers and coastal patrollers to watch for sharks and have implemented a ban on swimming.

The OR Tambo District Municipality and Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism have agreed to appoint a team of experts to investigate the attacks and report back with recommendations within two weeks.

In the meantime, the district and local municipalities moved hastily to erect warning flags to prevent further loss of life.

- The Witness

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afri ... 67,00.html
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