Surfing community in mourning after 'much loved' teen killed in shark attack

Khai Cowley was fatally mauled by a suspected great white while surfing west of Adelaide on Thursday.

Surfing SA described Cowley as "a happy, kind and respectful kid, very much loved by his surfing peers". Source: AAP / Surfing South Australia

Key Points

• Khai Cowley was fatally mauled by a suspected great white while surfing west of Adelaide about 1.30pm on Thursday.
• Emergency services rushed to the popular surfing spot but were unable to save the 15-year-old's life.
• Three people have now been killed by sharks and another two injured in South Australia's waters in 2023.

A teenage boy killed in a shark attack off the coast of South Australia has been remembered as a talented and dearly loved member of the surfing community.

Khai Cowley was fatally mauled by a suspected great white while surfing off remote Ethel Beach on the Yorke Peninsula, west of Adelaide, about 1.30pm on Thursday.

Emergency services rushed to the popular surfing spot in Innes National Park but were unable to save the 15-year-old's life.

Surfing SA paid tribute to the talented surfer "grom" from Maslin Beach in Adelaide's south.

The surfing community has paid tribute to Cowley (pictured). Source: AAP / Supplied

"Khai was very involved in our surfing community with his passion for surfing stemming from a family with deep surfing roots in SA," the group said in an Instagram post.

"He was a happy, kind and respectful kid, very much loved by his surfing peers and he will be greatly missed out in our community and on the water."

Ryan Valente, a local skipper with Reef Encounters who knows the Marion Bay region well, said it was unusual to see great whites in the area and could not recall any similar incidents happening before.

"It's stuff nightmares are made of," he told ABC Radio on Friday.

"Yesterday itself conditions-wise was a very grim day: lightning, strong winds and it was quite a dark day.

"The town's in a bit of shock, I guess. Our hearts go out to the family that are involved in the tragic incident."

Andrew Fox, a researcher at the Rodney Fox Shark Museum, said great whites are ambush predators and murky conditions on Thursday may have increased their activity.

"They're more motivated - bigger swell, dirty water," he told ABC Radio. "Anything that increases the chances of an ambush predator."

Khai's death rounds out a horror year for SA beachgoers, with three people killed by sharks and another two injured in the state's waters in 2023.

Teacher Simon Baccanello, 46, died in a suspected shark attack while surfing at Walkers Rock Beach, about 365km west of Adelaide, in May. Fifty-five-year-old Tod Gendle was killed surfing at Granites Beach on the state's west coast in October.

The bodies of neither man have been recovered.

The death of Kai Cowley marks the third fatal shark attack in South Australia this year. Source: AAP

Fox said the recent uptick in shark attacks was a stark contrast to the relatively low amount of incidents during the previous eight years.

"These little clusters are more commonly seen in Western Australia and the eastern states," he said.

"We're known as a bit of a home to the great white shark. We know so much more about great white sharks but they're so mysterious still.

"A lot of surf places are also natural feeding grounds of sharks and there's been a lot of salmon seen swimming through that area in recent times."

A GoFundMe fundraiser set up by Khai's family to help pay for his funeral costs had raised almost $24,000 by Friday morning - more than triple its target.