The teenage victim of a fatal shark attack north of Brisbane has been identified. 17-year-old Charlize Zmuda was attacked off the coast of Bribie Island yesterday afternoon.
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00:00Well, this is an incredibly tragic incident that's unfolded here at Warram Beach on
00:06Bribie Island, which is about an hour's north of Brisbane.
00:10Even in the early hours of this morning, we saw family and friends who gathered here at
00:13this beach to pay tribute to beautiful Charlize Zmuda, the 17-year-old who tragically lost
00:19her life yesterday afternoon.
00:21There've been dozens of floral tributes that have been laid.
00:24There's even been her name that's been etched into the sand in a lovely love heart.
00:28And her family say that they really want her to be remembered for this shining light and
00:33incredibly beautiful person that she was.
00:35Not only was she gifted musically, able to play the ukulele, the trumpet, and even, as
00:41her mother describes, having the voice of an angel, but also she was an incredible person
00:46inside and out.
00:47Often anyone that did know of Charlize, she would be seen picking up trash along the beach
00:52because this really, right here, was her favourite beach.
00:55She was a dedicated lifesaver who wanted to only do the best for our club and for all
01:01the people in our community.
01:05When I got the tragic news yesterday, I was extremely gutted.
01:10But something that my wife and I want to say is we don't want people to stop coming to
01:16the beach.
01:17This all unfolded tragically yesterday afternoon.
01:19Emergency services were called out to here just before 5 o'clock to reports of a young
01:25teenage swimmer who was injured.
01:27And when paramedics arrived, they treated the 17-year-old for life-threatening injuries
01:32to her torso.
01:33Now, unfortunately, she was unable to be saved.
01:36And this beach still remains very much closed off to the public.
01:39Queensland Surf Lifesaving have said that they believe she was swimming in a part of
01:44the beach that was unpatrolled.
01:46And it's something that's hit so close to home.
01:48And for so many local community members, there was more than a dozen local swimmers
01:52who actually gathered here at the beach earlier this morning, throwing in those floral tributes
01:56and really holding a special memorial service just for her.
02:00We gathered together and we just did some remembering and a prayer.
02:08And then in our own time, just set the flowers afloat and contemplated life.
02:13We are really conscious of her family and friend that was here and we just wanted to
02:20honour her as a fellow swimmer.
02:22We were paying respect to what happened to her and celebrate her spirit.
02:31Now, this is the second fatal shark attack that's unfolded here in Queensland in just
02:36over a month.
02:37It's something that has hit very close to home.
02:40There are, of course, drumlines set up all along Wharram Beach, but many say that there's
02:45still lots more that could be done to ensure there's sort of that shark mitigation risk.
02:50But many family and friends of beautiful Sharlene Zamuto have said that they don't want her
02:56to be remembered for the tragic way that she died, but instead of the incredible life that
03:00she lived.