A teenage girl killed by a shark at Bribie Island had spent the week surfing, four-wheel driving and taking in idyllic scenes with friends at the Queensland hotspot.
Charlize Zmuda, 17, was swimming at Woorim Beach when she was bitten by a shark in front of horrified onlookers about 4.45pm on Monday.
Despite the efforts of paramedics, she died at the scene.
Just a week earlier, Charlize had posted blissful photos to social media that showed how she was spending the summer.
The teen could be seen surfing at sunrise, strumming a guitar by a bonfire and driving a jeep loaded with surfboards on a beach.
‘Rest in peace beautiful girl,’ one friend wrote on Tuesday.
Charlize was a Bribie Island resident and a surf lifesaver for the local club.
Her family and friends got up early on Tuesday morning to watch the sunrise at Woorim Beach, where Charlize swam every day.
Charlize Zmuda, 17, was swimming at Woorim Beach when she was bitten by a shark in front of horrified onlookers about 4.45pm on Monday
Just a week earlier, Charlize had posted blissful photos to social media that showed how she was spending the summer
Charlize was a Queensland local and had served as a captain for the Bridie Island Surf Life Saving Club in 2024.
Her uncle described her as a ‘beautiful girl,’ and told Sunrise she had only just attended her school formal on Friday.
She was attacked while swimming 100 metres offshore at the south-east end of the island.
Police officers raced into the surf to help her after beachgoers heard ‘piercing’ screams.
People initially thought Charlize had been caught in a rip, but it soon became apparent she had been bitten and suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries to her upper arm and torso.
At the time of the attack she was with her best friend, who has been left traumatised by the ordeal.
The teen’s shattered family and friends later gathered at the scene.
Shark sightings are frequent at Bribie Island, but attacks are rare.
Woorim Beach is a popular destination with campers, 4WD enthusiasts and surfers as the closest surf beach north of Brisbane.
Police officers raced into the surf to help her after beachgoers heard ‘piercing’ screams
Woorim Beach (pictured) is a popular destination with campers, 4WD enthusiasts and surfers as the closest surf beach north of Brisbane
It comes weeks after youth pastor Luke Walford was killed in a shark attack at Humpy Island near Rockhampton off the central Queensland coast.
The species of shark which attacked Charlize is unknown.
There are an average of 20 shark attacks in Australia per year.
About three of those are fatal, but the number of deadly attacks has been increasing in recent years.
