A 19-year-old Canadian woman has tragically lost her life on a popular Australian beach, surrounded by a pack of dingoes, according to local authorities. The incident occurred on K’Gari, an island off the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.
The woman’s body was discovered around 6:30 am local time on Monday (8:30 pm GMT on Sunday) by two men driving along the beach. They spotted a pack of approximately 10 dingoes surrounding an object, which they soon realised was the woman’s body.
Inspector Paul Algie of the Queensland Police told local media that the woman had been working at a backpacker’s hostel for the past six weeks and had told her friends she was going for an early morning swim. “She was a young woman enjoying a beautiful part of the world, and that’s what makes this such a tragedy,” Algie said.
While the exact cause of death is still under investigation, Algie stated that there were signs on the body “consistent with having been touched and interfered with by the dingoes.” A post-mortem examination is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the cause of death.
The incident occurred near the Maheno shipwreck, a popular tourist destination on K’Gari, which is known for its population of dingoes, a wild species of dog that is protected as a native species in Queensland’s national parks.
“K’gari is a wilderness area,” Algie warned, urging people to avoid approaching the animals. “Dingoes are wild animals, and whilst they are very culturally significant to the local First Nations people and to the people that live on the island, they are still wild animals and need to be treated as such.”
The tragedy has left the local community and the woman’s friends and family in shock. Authorities are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the young woman’s death.
