DNA testing uncovers scary detail about shark attack

Researchers have confirmed a great white shark was the predator that attacked 20-year-old Jacquelin Morley in Western Australia.

Researchers have confirmed a great white shark was the predator that attacked 20-year-old Jacquelin Morley in Western Australia.

Ms Morley was paddling in an inflatable pool ring offshore at Kelp Beds Beach in Esperance when the 3m shark sunk its teeth into her.

The young swimmer is lucky to be alive after the horror attack, which saw the predator bite into her torso. She managed to swim to shore where locals tended to her before she was flown to hospital in Perth.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recovered Ms Morley’s inflatable pool ring and sent to Perth for testing.

A DPIRD spokesperson on Friday said DNA testing on the inflatable device confirmed it was a great white shark.

Jacquelin Morley, 20, was attacked by the shark of the WA coast.

Esperance resident Barry Brown, who was one of the first on the scene following the attack, said he saw the woman drifting for around half an hour before she was bitten.

“We actually saw a figure under the (pool ring) and we weren’t quite sure whether it was a dolphin or what it was,” he told ABC News.

“Then it knocked her off — we could see the shark’s tail come out of the water and into the air.”

Swimmer Darren Patten said he was near Ms Morley and her friends just minutes before the attack.

“I came out and I was towelling off ... then literally 20 or 30 seconds later I saw a group of friends congregating near the shore and there was no longer anyone on the blow up,” he told The West Australian.

Witnesses have told how they helped the woman after the shark attack.

“She was trying desperately to come through the brake and waving her hands calling them (her friends) in.”

Surf Life Saving WA confirmed a 3.3m white shark had been sighted at the beach around 12.26pm and also received another report of a 3m shark 100m offshore. The beach was closed as a result of the attack.