Stella Barry tragically lost her life following a horrific shark attack at Swan River in North Fremantle on Saturday afternoon. Let’s see more details about Stella Barry and what happened to the teenage girl.
What happened to Stella Berry in the swan River?
According to The West Australian, Stella was a year 11 student at Shenton College in Perth. She was just 16 years old. “It is with great sadness, sincere empathy, and the deepest regret that I write to inform you that Stella Berry tragically lost her life on Saturday 4th February in an incident at the river in North Fremantle,” Principal Michael Morgan wrote.
“I have personally offered, on behalf of the college, our condolences and support to Stella’s family during this very sad time.” Stella was killed near the Fremantle traffic bridge in Swan River, south of Perth.
Police believe a bull shark mauled the young girl, resulting in critical damage to her leg.
Tragic news – fatal shark attack this afternoon in Perth. The victim was a 16yo girl.
Attack took place in the Swan River, North Fremantle.
There was a serious non fatal bull shark attack in the Swan River in 2021. Prior to that, no reported attacks in the river for decades.— 💎 diamond 💎 (@diamond_qc) February 4, 2023
A hero risked his life to save Stella Berry
A brave bystander who has been called a “hero” risked his life to save Stella, jumping into the water and pulling her to shore. Although paramedics tried to revive her, Stella was tragically pronounced dead at 6 pm.
The North Fremantle community has been left in shock after teenager Stella Berry was killed by a shark in the Swan River.
Mauled to death by a Shark
It’s believed Stella Berry jumped into Perth’s Swan River to swim with dolphins when she was attacked by a shark, police say. She was pulled from the Swan River in North Fremantle suffering leg injuries at about 3.30 pm on Saturday but died at the scene. The incident is believed to be the first fatal shark attack in the waterway in 100 years.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge, who was swimming nearby at the time, said the incident rattled the community.
“This is an absolute tragedy,” she said. “People were just trying to cool down and we were even swimming just around the corner in the river and you don’t expect something like this would happen. “This always rattles people when something unexpected and horrible happens.”
Reports by WA Police
WA Police Acting Fremantle District Inspector Paul Robinson said she was riding with friends on jet skis near the Fremantle traffic bridge before the “tragic” attack.
“What we’re being advised is she was with friends on the river, they were on jet skis and possibly a pod of dolphins was seen nearby and the young female jumped in to swim nearby the dolphins,” Robinson said.
“It’s an extremely traumatic event for everyone involved and everyone who knew the young girl, so I won’t be going into the extent of the injuries. “It is unusual for a shark to be that far down the river, at this point in time an alert has been put out, a shark warning just to let people know this incident has taken place.”
Witnesses speak after girl killed in a shark attack
Local residents said they heard children screaming during the attack. A woman told the ABC she came out of her home to see what the commotion was about. She described Stella Berry‘s injuries “like nothing I’ve seen before”.
As he and his friends Harry and Jacob were rope-swinging, they actually observed them pass through the bridge. We observed them as they passed by getting off their jet skis close to the beach, jumping off, and swimming fast to the shore.
We had been swimming and leaping off for an hour to 45 minutes when this attack occurred, utterly ignorant of it. As he and his friends Harry and Jacob were rope-swinging, they actually observed them pass through the bridge.
“They went by, and we saw them leap off the jet skis near the beach, and swim fast to the land. “We were completely unaware of this attack and had been swimming and jumping off for about an hour to 45 minutes.
Condolence shared by Shenton College to Stella Berry
The school offered its condolences in an email sent to parents earlier today. Shenton College principal Michael Morgan said the school’s student support team which includes chaplains, nurses, and psychologists will be available to support students as required.
“I understand and respect that people respond to grief and loss in different ways and that a loss such as this can trigger a broad range of emotional responses that are not always anticipated or evident,” he said.
“I have personally offered, on behalf of the college, our condolences and support to Stella’s family during this very sad time.” Berry’s sister Mae is also a student at the school.
Stella’s parents Matt and Sophie Berry were teachers at other schools in Perth, WAtoday reported.
The community is in Awestruck
“We are all grateful and aware it could’ve been us and are all shaken about what happened. We’d like to thank a local for coming over and informing us as the police that passed saw that we were swimming and did not inform us about the recent shark attack.”
Police investigations are ongoing.
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