Teen killed in shark attack a ‘dearly loved’ surfer
The surfing community has paid tribute to a 15-year-old boy killed by a shark on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, the state’s third fatal attack this year.
15-year-old Khai Cowley has been remembered as a talented surfer. Photo: GoFundMe.
A teenage boy killed in a shark attack off the coast of South Australia has been remembered as a talented and dearly loved member of the surfing community.
The 15-year-old, Khai Cowley, was fatally mauled by a suspected great white while surfing off remote Ethel Beach on the Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide about 1.30pm on Thursday.
Emergency services rushed to the popular surfing spot in Innes National Park but were unable to save the Maslin Beach boy’s life.
Surfing SA paid tribute to the talented surfer in a statement released on Thursday night.
“We are devastated to learn that a young, talented and dearly loved member of our surfing community, was the surfer involved in the attack at Ethel Beach, and are absolutely shattered to hear that the incident was fatal,” the statement read.
“Our utmost deepest sympathies are with his family.”
Cowley’s aunt Lauryn Barley has organised a GoFundMe campaign to “help raise funds for my sister, Kate and brother, Tim to cover the cost of the funeral service”.
Since it was created just 12 hours ago, the campaign has raised nearly $23,000.
Ryan Valente, a local skipper with Reef Encounters who knows the Marion Bay region well, said it was unusual to see great whites in the are and could not recall any similar incidents happening before.
“It’s stuff nightmares are made of,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
“Yesterday itself conditions-wise was a very grim day: lightning, strong winds and it was quite a dark day.
“The town’s in a bit of shock, I guess. Our hearts go out to the family that are involved in the tragic incident.
Andrew Fox, a researcher at the Rodney Fox Shark Museum, said great whites are ambush predators and murky conditions on Thursday may have increased their activity.
“They’re more motivated – bigger swell, dirty water,” he told ABC Radio.
“Anything that increases the chances of an ambush predator.”
The latest incident rounds out a bad year for SA beachgoers, with three people killed by sharks and another two injured in the state’s waters in 2023.
Teacher Simon Baccanello, 46, died in a suspected shark attack while surfing at Walkers Rock Beach, about 365km west of Adelaide, in May before 55-year-old Tod Gendle was killed while surfing at Granites Beach on the state’s west coast in October.
Neither men’s bodies have been recovered.
Fox said the recent uptick in shark attacks was a stark contrast to the relatively low amount of incidents during the previous eight years.
“These little clusters are more commonly seen in Western Australia and the eastern states,” he said.
“We’re known as a bit of a home to the great white shark. We know so much more about great white sharks but they’re so mysterious still.
“A lot of surf places are also natural feeding grounds of sharks and there’s been a lot of salmon seen swimming through that area in recent times.”
-With AAP
