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International Desk: A woman has been killed by a great white in the first fatal shark attack on record in the US state of Maine.<\/p>\nInternational Desk: A woman has been killed by a great white in the first fatal shark attack on record in the US state of Maine.<\/p>\n
The woman was swimming near Bailey Island – close to the city of Portland – on Monday when she was attacked.<\/p>\n
She was named as Julie Holowach, 63, a recently retired fashion executive from New York.<\/p>\n
It is only the second shark attack ever recorded in Maine. The species is not common in the region because of its cooler waters.<\/p>\n
Ms Holowach was swimming just 18 metres (60ft) offshore with her daughter near Mackerel Cove when she was attacked, according to the Portland Press Herald. The younger woman was uninjured.<\/p>\n
A neighbour, Tom Whyte, told the newspaper he had seen the attack from his office overlooking the cove.<\/p>\n
“You could hear her giggling and laughing,” Mr Whyte said. “All of a sudden Julie just started screaming for help.<\/p>\n
“And all of a sudden Julie went under. It looked like she was pulled under.”<\/p>\n
He said Ms Holowach's daughter had started swimming towards her.<\/p>\n
Another witness told the Press Herald there was “a lot of blood in the water”.<\/p>\n
Two kayakers helped Ms Holowach get to shore after the attack.<\/p>\n
An ambulance was also on hand to help at the scene, but she was later pronounced dead.<\/p>\n
A tooth fragment from the scene confirmed she had been attacked by a great white shark, a local official said.<\/p>\n
Ms Holowach was reportedly wearing a wet suit and her daughter was not, fuelling speculation locally that the shark may have mistaken the older woman for a seal.<\/p>\n
Great whites have been sighted in recent summers in Maine, where many seals swim in local waters.<\/p>\n
The only previous such attack recorded in Maine waters happened in 2010 and involved a scuba diver fending off a porbeagle shark, according to the Press Herald report. The diver was not injured.<\/p>\n
Ms Holowach had retired early after a highly successful career as a fashion executive, the New York Post reported.<\/p>\n
“She's one of the happiest, most energetic people with the greatest disposition and zest,” long-time friend Karen Murray told the Post, adding that the victim had two children, a son and daughter.<\/p>\n
“Julie ran marathons. She actually did triathlons. She was in great, great physical shape. She made her money, and she wanted to spend time with her family.”<\/p>\n
She reportedly split her time between her summer home in Maine, New York City and Naples, Florida.<\/p>\n
Sharks have been sighted in various places off the north-east US coast in recent weeks, particularly around Long Island in New York, the AFP news agency reports.<\/p>\n
There have also been previous sightings around Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where a surfer was killed by a great white in September 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
International Desk: A woman has been killed by a great white in the first fatal shark attack on record in the US state of Maine. The woman was swimming near Bailey Island – close to the city of Portland – on Monday when she was attacked. She was named as Julie Holowach, 63, a recently […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":61158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,5,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n