The woman was attacked while snorkeling close to the island of Maui, suffered extensive injuries to her torso

Apr 30, 2015 13:10 GMT  ·  By

On Wednesday, a woman was attacked and killed by a shark while swimming in the waters off the coast of the island of Maui in Hawaii. 

When her body was discovered and pulled out of the ocean, it was discovered that she had suffered extensive injuries to her torso. A team of paramedics did their best to revive her but to no avail.

There were no witnesses to the attack

It is understood that the attack occurred around 9 a.m. local time. At that time, the 65-year-old woman, a Maui local, was snorkeling with a group of friends.

For some reason, she strayed away from the other snorkelers. It was while exploring the ocean on her own that she crossed paths with the shark and was attacked by it.

Shortly after, her friends found her and brought her body back to shore, DM reports. Apart from the injuries covering her torso, the 65-year-old was missing an arm.

Although there were no witnesses to the attack, experts say that the bite marks that were identified on the woman's body could have only been left by a shark.

Many believe that the 65-year-old woman was killed by a tiger shark. This is because this species is responsible for the majority of the attacks that happen in Hawaiian waters.

Besides, tiger sharks, which can grow to be about 5 meters (over 16 feet) in length, are known to be a tad more temperamental than other fish of their kind.

The attack prompted authorities to clear the area

The woman, whose identity has not yet been disclosed, was attacked while snorkeling in the Kanahena Cove area of Maui's Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve.

Following her death, local authorities had crews on jet skis urge people out of the water, and the area where the woman was killed was closed until further notice.

It is unclear whether there are any plans to go in search of the shark that mauled this woman and kill it to make sure that it will not attack other people.