A large shark killed a woman near her terrified husband and friends as they took their daily morning swim Thursday off a popular Australian east coast beach, police said, according to CNN.
Christine Armstrong, 63, was taken by the shark as she attempted to swim the 1,970 feet between the wharf and beach near the village of Tathra, 210 miles south of Sydney, police said, CNN reported.
The victim was some distance from the other five swimmers, including her husband, Rob Armstrong, when they saw a 10-to-13-foot shark nearby, said Police Inspector Jason Edmunds, according to CNN.
"The group joined up together and did their best to keep the shark at bay, although it didn't directly attack them," Edmunds said, CNN reported. Edmunds said the species of the shark was unknown.
The Tathra Wharf to Waves is a swim off a rocky coastline from the wharf to the beach and back again, according to CNN. It is an annual event that attracts hundreds of swimmers each summer.
Local council general manager Leanne Barnes said locals meet at the beach every morning to swim out to the wharf and back, CNN reported.
Armstrong's family said in a statement that she had been swimming at the beach for 14 years and had been a trainer at the local volunteer lifeguard club, according to CNN.
"Swimming brought her much joy and many friends," the statement said, CNN reported. "She will be sadly missed by all who loved her, especially by Rob, her husband of 44 years."
Police said a helicopter and boat were used to search for Armstrong's remains, according to CNN. The fruitless search was called off late Thursday afternoon.
Although sharks are common off Australia's coast, the country has averaged fewer than two fatal attacks per year in recent decades, but fatal attacks are becoming more common, CNN reported. Two men were killed in shark attacks off the east and west coasts in the space of a week in November last year, the only fatalities in 2013.
On Wednesday, police recovered remains of a 38-year-old man reported missing last week while diving south of the west coast city of Perth, according to CNN. Police said the remains had shark bites, but it was not clear whether the man had been bitten before or after he died.
