Body washed up on Durban beach ‘partly eaten by shark’

02 April 2022 - 15:50
By TImesLIVE
La Lucia beach, where the body of a drowned man washed up covered in shark bites on April 1 2022.
Image: Netcare 911 La Lucia beach, where the body of a drowned man washed up covered in shark bites on April 1 2022.

A drowned man whose body is thought to have been partly eaten by a shark washed up on a Durban beach on Friday.

Parts of the man's right upper arm and right chest area were missing when medics examined the body on La Lucia beach, said Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst.

“Although authorities will determine the exact cause of death, it is believed the deceased had been predated on following the drowning,” he said.

The alarm was raised at 4.30pm on Friday when a drowning was reported.

“Reports indicate that a while walking on the beach, a man came across the decomposing body of an adult male face down between washed-up flotsam,” said Herbst.

“A second body was also found in the shore break, but it had been washed back out to sea by the strong surf before lifeguards arrived on scene.

“When medics turned the body over for assessment, it was found that a portion of the right upper arm and right chest area were missing, with multiple shark bite marks clearly visible.”

Herbst said the body was handed over to Durban North police for further investigation.

TimesLIVE