A 60-year-old from New York died on Monday after being attacked by a great white shark in southern Maine, authorities said. The victim was identified as a 63-year-old female Julie Dimperio Holowach, who lived in New York City and owned a residence on the coast in Maine.
Julie Holowach was wearing a wetsuit when she was attacked a few yards off the coast near the northeastern city of Portland. According to American media CNN, she was swimming with her daughter, who was not injured and was able to swim to the beach.
Maine Department of Marine Resources official Patrick Keliher said kayakers then brought her back to shore, where she was pronounced dead.
A tooth collected at the scene confirmed that it was indeed a great white shark.
First fatal attack in Maine
This is the second shark attack on record in Maine, where the water is cold for swimming. It is also the first fatal attack in the state.
The local Department of Agriculture and Forestry has instructed bathers not to swim when they have waist-deep water in Maine's ten parks that have a beach. As for the Department of Marine Resources of Maine, it has advised against swimming near seals or schools of fish, which are often the initial targets of sharks.
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For several weeks, sharks have been sighted in several places on the northeast coast of the United States, especially near New York.
