WA teenager Laeticia Brouwer's injuries and blood loss were so severe after she was attacked by a shark that she couldn't be saved despite quickly receiving first aid, says the first paramedic to treat her.
The 17-year-old was mauled while surfing at the popular surf break Kelp Beds near Esperance just before 4pm on Easter Monday while her father Leon surfed nearby and her mother Julie and two younger sisters watched in horror from the beach.
Her father and another surfer pulled Laeticia to shore, where a nurse helped perform first aid and applied a tourniquet to stem the bleeding.
But it's understood Laeticia lost so much blood that CPR was ineffective, and she did not regain consciousness, dying at Esperance Hospital a short time later.
Laeticia's uncle Steve Evans broke down while reading a statement to reporters in Esperance on behalf of the devastated family, saying they were "terribly heartbroken and saddened by this tragic accident".
"We take comfort in the fact that Laeticia died doing something that she loved," he said.
"The ocean was her and her family's passion.
"Surfing was something that she treasured doing with her dad and her sisters.
"Laeticia will be greatly missed by her family, friends and everyone who knew her.
"We take comfort in the fact that she's now in heaven with the Lord in eternal peace."
The family from Singleton, south of Perth, had been on an Easter holiday.
Local paramedic Paul Gaughan said Laeticia was in critical condition when he arrived.
As the beach was more than 25 minutes from the hospital, paramedics tried to stabilise her first with infused fluids.
"The people on the scene did everything right, people knew first aid and they really gave the young girl every possible chance under such dire circumstances for a positive outcome," Mr Gaughan told reporters.
"Unfortunately, in this case, the injuries were just too severe."
Mr Gaughan attended a shark attack at the same beach in 2014, where Sean Pollard survived but lost his his right hand and left arm.
The beach remained closed on Tuesday and the Department of Fisheries conducted patrols.
Fatal shark attacks appear to have increased significantly. Of the 24 known deaths in WA in the past century, 14 have been since 2004, including two in the same week last June.
They were surfer Ben Gerring at Mandurah and diver Doreen Collyer at Mindarie Marina in Perth.
The new Labor state government will not deploy drumlines to try to catch the shark responsible, which is believed to be a great white.
Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly said Labor did not believe drumlines made beaches safer and Labor's policy would focus on personal electronic deterrent devices.
Opposition Leader Mike Nahan said on Tuesday that if his party was still in government, they would have put out drumlines, saying the Liberals would always "give priority to human life over sharks".
"Clearly there is a growth in numbers of sharks, clearly humankind is being exposed to those dangerous sharks more often, and we have to respond in a manner that is befitting," he said.
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