A woman swimming off the coast of Maine was killed by a great white shark in the state's first-ever fatal shark attack

• A great white shark fatally attacked a woman who was swimming roughly 20 yards off the coast of Maine's Bailey Island on Monday, authorities said.
• The woman was identified as 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach.
• Officials said two kayakers paddled into the area and pulled Holowach from the water and brought her to shore, but first responders pronounced her dead at the scene.
• The commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources said in a press conference that swimmers in the area should avoid parts of the water where schools of fish attract seals, which attract sharks.

A New York City woman swimming near an island off the coast of Maine was killed by a great white shark on Monday in the state's first ever deadly shark attack, authorities said.

The woman, who has since been identified as 63-year-old Julie Dimperio Holowach, was swimming with her daughter some 20 yards from shore on Bailey's Island on Monday afternoon when the shark attacked her, Patrick Keliher, commissioner of Maine Department of Marine Resources, said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Kayakers pulled Holowach from the water and brought her to shore, but first responders pronounced her dead when they arrived, Keliher said.

He praised the kayakers for their bravery and quick thinking in pulling Holowach out of the water.

"I can't stress enough the thanks we have for the efforts they made. In the face of that type of situation, the fact that they were able to kayak into that area and bring the body back to shore was nothing short of miraculous," he said.

He added that Holowach's daughter was unharmed in the attack and was able to swim back to shore safely.

Officials later recovered a fragment of the shark's tooth and identified it as a great white, Keliher said. He added that Maine Marine Patrol is investigating the incident.

"I want to stress that this is a very highly unusual event. In fact, this is the only confirmed fatality in Maine waters from a shark attack," Keliher said, adding that the last non-fatal shark attack in the state occurred roughly 10 years ago.

He warned swimmers and others in the area to "be aware of their surroundings" and to avoid parts of the water with large schools of fish, which could attract seals, which, in turn, attract sharks.

"It's the presence of seals that are really the driver here," he said. "It's the rarity of the event that made us believe that we didn't need to take action such as a closure."

He added that authorities have since flown planes near the area of the attack to detect sharks, but haven't yet observed any.

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