December 29th 2023.
Khai Cowley was an extremely talented 15-year-old surfer who was tragically killed in a shark attack on Thursday while surfing off a remote Ethel Beach on the Yorke Peninsula. Khai was ranked inside the top 150 under-18 surfers in the country and had recently been named the ‘most outstanding grom performer’ by his local Seaview Road Board Riders surf club.
The attack took place in front of his father, who had taken him there from their home in Seaford, four hours away. According to a local who spoke to the Adelaide Advertiser, ‘The shark took his leg, and so another local guy ran out, jumped on his board and paddled out to help him. The shark was circling them as the guy pulled the boy out of the water. There was a lot of blood. He brought him to shore but I think it was too late by then.’
The surf club wrote on Facebook that they were in a state of ‘disbelief and devastation’ following Khai’s death. The tribute added, ‘You will live on in our hearts and memories. We will all miss you so much and will keep on shredding for you.’
Khai’s death is the third fatal shark attack in South Australia in recent months. Surfers died in shark attacks in remote parts of South Australia in May and October. Their bodies were never recovered. South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said there have been 11 fatal shark attacks in the state’s waters since 2000, and that the three fatalities this year is ‘startling and is of concern’. He said there was little the government could do to make beaches safer outside Adelaide.
Outside the state, a 16-year-old girl killed by a bull shark in a river in the West Coast city of Perth in February was the only other fatal shark attack in Australia during 2023. Shark expert Andrew Fox said the increase in shark attacks in South Australia this year, including two non-fatal attacks, was difficult to explain. He said overcast conditions like those at Ethel Beach on Thursday can embolden sharks to attack.
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