The grieving father of a teenage girl who was killed in a shark attack in Australia has insisted that people continue to enjoy the beach.
Charlize Zmuda, 17, was swimming in an unpatrolled section of the popular Woorim Beach at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, just before 5pm on Monday when the shark bit her, ABC News reports.
Speaking a day after she was killed, her father Steve Zmuda insisted that their family did not want people to stop going to the beach following her death.
He told ABC: "When I got the tragic news yesterday, I was extremely gutted, but something that my wife and I want to say is we don't want people to stop coming to the beach and enjoying our beach.
"It's a big part of our lives."
Ms Zmuda had been a Bribie Island nipper, a club which helps children and teenagers learn about beach safety since she was eight years old and had competed in the Lifesaving World Championships.
Her father explained that alongside her surf lifesaving skills his daughter was “so musically gifted”.
He continued: “She could hear a piece of music and then pick up and play it at the drop of a heartbeat.
Floral tributes were laid by the beach and a memorial service was held on the island's eastern coast early on Tuesday.
Another family member Renee Zmuda had previously said that the community wanted to focus on “the incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died”.
In a statement they said: "Charlize was loved by many and was such a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met.
"She loved the beach and it truly was her happiest place on Earth."
CEO of Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) Dave Whimpey said Ms Zmuda was a highly skilled lifesaver who spent her time "looking after Queenslanders".
He said: "She was an age manager, so she had a group of young kids that she looked after every weekend.”
He continued: "These incidents do happen, they're quite rare ... a young girl that had everything to live for doing what she loved.”
