Horror as mum killed by shark while kids watch
A mum was torn apart by a huge great white shark in front of her horrified husband and four young children, with only one part of her body later recovered from the water. Shirley Ann Durdin, 33, was diving for scallops in South Australia when the shark attacked in 1985. The predator, which eyewitnesses estimated was up to 20ft long, ripped the mother-of-four in half as her family watched helplessly from the shore. The horrific attack happened off Wiseman's Beach at Peake Bay, where Shirley had been in the clear waters when the shark struck. Her husband and their four children - Jason, Tanya, Carla and Sonya, who were all under the age of 12 - could only watch in horror from the beach.
TL;DR
- Shirley Ann Durdin, 33, was killed by a great white shark while diving for scallops in South Australia in 1985.
- Her husband and four children under 12 witnessed the attack off Wiseman's Beach at Peake Bay.
- Eyewitnesses estimated the shark was up to 20ft long and tore the mother-of-four in half.
- Only a headless torso was recovered from the water.
- An extensive hunt for the shark was launched, involving local clubs and residents.
- A net was found bitten in half, and bait was used to lure the shark.
- A meeting decided the shark should be killed, with speculation it was old or wounded and unable to catch normal prey.
- Searches by police, divers, and SES personnel failed to locate the shark.
- There were no prior reports of sharks in the area.