The second fatal shark attack of 2023 has been reported in Australia. Stella Berry, 16, was enjoying the day Feb. 4 with friends in Perth’s Swan River, Western Australia.
The group had traversed with river on jet skis near North Fremantle when they spotted a group of dolphins and decided to swim with them. Several local sources report Berry was with others using a rope swing and jumping into the water off the Fremantle traffic bridge.
Around 3:30 p.m. screams were heard, and Berry was pulled under the water. An unidentified man, who may have been her boyfriend, dove into the water and pulled Berry to shore. Police responded via boat to the area around Dopel Street around Sorrell Park.
Police set up a white partition to block the view of the public, and Berry was confirmed deceased at 6 p.m.
The first statement from police indicated Berry was riding a ski when she went to swim with dolphins.
“I’m not going to go into the details of the injuries, it’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and anyone who knew the young girl. This is a very traumatic incident, and the family are absolutely devastated by the news,” according to acting Inspector Paul Robinson. “I’ve spoken to fisheries and water police and, unfortunately, we have no idea what type of shark it is.
“The family weren’t there when this took place. However, her friends were and as you can imagine this is an extremely traumatic incident for anyone to witness so, obviously, we are offering counseling services to anyone who did witness it or is affected by the incident.”
Rope swinging witness
Joshua Banks, 16, was using a rope swing with around 6 friends for an hour or two on the bridge when he spotted a jet ski and several swimmers rushing to shore.
“We saw the dolphins, there were dolphins there. When all the police came by we thought we were in trouble,” he told the WA Today.
“They looked at us and they didn’t tell us about it, which is kind of worrying as after this had happened, we were still jumping off the rope.”
He said another person came on a ski and told them what happened, and they got out of the water.
Parents morn daughter
Matt and Sophie Berry, who are both schoolteachers, said they were “devastated and deeply shocked” by the loss of their beautiful daughter who planned to live in Europe after school and loved being creative.
“She was a beautiful and loving big sister and the best daughter we could have hoped for. She was a caring person and was a dear friend to many, across a variety of schools in the area,” they said. “She had an infectious laugh which we couldn’t help laughing at too when we heard it; she was a beautiful and loving big sister and the best daughter we could have hoped for.”
Bull sharks live in the river but have not been known to travel that far down river.
Fisheries has opened an investigation and may consider the use of barriers to prevent sharks from entering the area.
The last fatal shark attack occurred in the river almost 100 years to the day. Charles Robinson, 13, was killed while swimming near shore at Freshwater Bay.
Several other shark attack bites have occurred over the years. The last occurred Jan. 14, 2021, when Cameron Wrathall was swimming and attacked by a 2-to-3-meter (6.5 to 10) foot bull shark.
A diver was killed in the first shark attack of 2023.
All locations are marked on the 2023 Shark Attack Map.
