15-year-old girl killed in beach shark attack off French island

PARIS - France 24

A 15-year-old tourist has been killed by a shark in shallow water on the coast of French overseas territory Réunion. AFP photo

A 15-year-old girl was killed on Monday in a shark attack at a beach on the island of Réunion, a French territory in the Indian Ocean.

It is the second shark fatality there this year and the fifth since 2011, but the first since 1999 that has occurred in shallow water. Fatalities are more usually among surfers and wind surfers.

According to police, the unnamed girl, holidaying on the island, was a “within a few metres” of the water’s edge when she was attacked.