White shark kills bodysurfer David Lilienfeld

David Lilienfeld was in the water with his brother and two friends at Gordon’s Bay to the southeast of the city when the shark struck at around 12.30pm. Witnesses described how the five-metre creature dragged him underwater as his brother looked on helplessly. He and their friends managed to pull him onto nearby rocks, but he had died by the time paramedics were able to reach him by boat.

Surfers pay tribute to David Lilienfeld

Mr Lilienfeld, from nearby Camps Bay, had represented South Africa at the World Bodyboarding Championship in the Canary Islands in November. Pat Harris, the South African Bodyboarding Association vice chairperson, said he was both accomplished and popular. “It’s a humongous loss," he added.

Controversy now surrounds the filming of a documentary entitled Shark Men in the bay, in which researchers had been using bait to lure sharks close to their boat. Shark experts had warned that the practice could cause a shark attack – the documentary team’s permit to film has now been cancelled.

It's not the first time surfers are victim of shark attacks. Perhaps the most famous was the surfer Bethany Hamilton who lost her arm after a being attacked by a shark. Her story was brought on film last year in "Soul Surfer", starring Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid. Unfortunately, David Lilienfeld had a different destiny.