Girl, 17, mauled to death by shark while swimming at beach is named as horrified witnesses heard screams from water

A TEENAGE girl who was mauled to death in a horrifying shark attack has been named as a "shining light" of the community by loved ones.

Charlize Zmuda, 17, let out a "piercing scream" as she was fatally bitten by the dangerous beast at a popular tourist hot spot in Australia.

Horrified witnesses have spoken out about the ordeal at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane after the shark attack on Woorim Beach around 4.45pm local time.

Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of the attack.

Queensland Ambulance confirmed they were responding to a “serious shark bite incident” and had treated Charlize for life-threatening upper body injuries.

Despite their best efforts, the young teen sadly passed away just after 5 pm, police said.

Touching tributes have poured in since Charlize was pronounced dead.

Devastated family member Renee Zmuda said they would like the community to focus on the "incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died".

She said in a statement: "Charlize was loved by many and was such a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met."

Local swimmer Jenny O'Connor gathered at the beach to lay flowers for Charlize as a group paid their respects to the girl.

Jenny honoured the teen by saying she died "doing what she loved".

Charlize died just days after she celebrated finishing high school.

She was a young life saver who first started with the Bribie Island nippers aged just eight.

The teen was also co-captain of the Bridie Island Surf Life Saving Club and is believed to have been at the beach with her friends.

Chris Potter, a local who saw the tragedy unfold, told the Courier Mail he heard a piercing scream coming from the water at the time of the attack.

He said: "People originally thought she had just been caught in a rip.

"It was shocking."

Woorim Ocean Beach, a popular surf spot, is the closest surf beach north of Brisbane.

The fatal attack follows the death of 28-year-old surfer Lance Appleby, who was killed by a shark off South Australia’s coast in January.

Appleby was playing around in the sea at the popular The Granites beach, near the coastal town of Streaky Bay on the fateful evening.

At around 7.10pm horrified witnesses say they noticed a figure approaching him in the water.

Police later confirmed they found a shredded surfboard belonging to the popular Australian surfer.

Jeff Schumucker, a family friend of the victim who saw the ordeal as it unfolded, gave a harrowing recount of the surfer's final moments.

He told 7NEWS: “He caught a wave and flipped off the wave and proceeded to paddle back, and he was attacked."

A frantic search for the man saw several witnesses jump onto jet skis to scare away any potential killers.

Others stayed on the beach and called the cops.

Appleby had come home to the Eyre Peninsula to spend Christmas with his family, locals added.

The beautiful stretch of coastline is said to be a shark hotspot especially around this time of year, according to the Adelaide Advertiser.

Shark researchers have constantly labelled the area as a playground for great whites due to the water conditions being perfect for the beasts.

The state of South Australia has registered more shark attacks in the past two years than usual.

In December, a school chaplain and keen fisherman was also killed in a horror shark attack on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Luke Walford, a youth pastor, had been spearfishing with his family when he was mauled to death.

Paramedics were able to give the 40-year-old medical attention, but he died about an hour after the attack, the .

He and his family had been in the water near Humpy Island in the Great Barrier Reef's Keppel Bay Islands National Park when the attack happened.

Walford was a school chaplain and pastor at the Cathedral of Praise church in Rockhampton, Queensland.

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