Shark Kills Film Director in New Zealand

Today, on the popular Muriwai Beach near Auckland, New Zealand, television and short film director, Adam Strange, was killed by a large shark.

The director has worked on ads for Toyota and Pepsi, as well as produced a  film called “Aphrodite’s Farm,” which won a Crystal Bear award at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival for best short film.

The fatal attack on the 46-year-old swimmer is one of only a dozen in the past 180 years on the island. According to the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File, within the last year, humans were attacked 80 times in various parts of the world and seven people were killed.

About 200 people were along the beach when the attack took place.

After police fired shots into the water attempting to save Strange, the enormous predator disappeared. The man’s body was later recovered and Muriwai, along with other nearby beaches were closed until further notice.

Shawn Rutene, a police inspector, said in a statement that Strange was about 650 feet from the shoreline when the shark attacked. He confirmed that police took an inflatable surf-lifesaving boat out into the water and shot at the shark, which they estimate was 12 to 14 feet long.

“It rolled over and disappeared,” Rutene said. It was not mentioned what species of shark killed the director.

A shark expert with the Department of Conservation reported that in New Zealand attacks are rare, even though it is the home of great whites, as well as other lethal predators. ”There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia,” he said. ”Ninety-nine percent of the time they ignore people.”

A local fisherman, Pio Mose, who was fishing on the beach at the time, told The New Zealand Herald that he saw the swimmer struggling to get away from the shark. Before he had the opportunity to reach the rocks to safety, it was all over.

“All of a sudden there was blood everywhere,” Mose said. “I was shaking, scared, panicked.”

Strange leaves behind a young child and wife

.by Elysia McMahan