Jana Lutteropp told rescuers “I’m going to die” after a shark ripped off her arm in a brutal attack off a Maui beach.
Less than a week later, the harrowing prediction came true, and the 20-year-old German tourist died in a Hawaii hospital.
Lutteropp was snorkeling between 50 and 100 yards off Palauea Beach in Makena when the attack took place. Another tourist, a teacher from California, heard Lutteropp screaming and came to help. Rescuers loaded her into a kayak and helped bring her to shore, but the arm was not recovered.
“All she had hanging out on her right arm was a bone and she was in and out of saying these words ‘I’m dying, I’m going to die’ and I kept saying to her, no you’re not. We’re going to get her to shore. We’re going to save you,” rescuer Rick Moore told CBS affiliate KGMB in Hawaii.
Rescuers said the 20-year-old lost consciousness when she was brought to shore. Jana was revived with CPR, but doctors said she lost a large amount of blood and likely suffered severe brain damage.
After the shark attack Jana Lutteropp was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center and listed in very critical condition.
She died on Wednesday , and afterward her family released a statement that read, “Jana fought hard to stay alive. However, we are sad to say that she lost her fight today.”
The incident comes as part of an increase in shark attacks around Hawaii. Just a few days after Jana’s attack, a 16-year-old surfer suffered injuries on both legs after a shark attacked him off the coast of Hilo. In 2012 there were 52 shark attacks in all of the United States, but this year there have been seven in Maui alone.
Hawaiian officials say they don’t know what kind of shark attacked Jana Lutteropp but suspect it was a tiger shark.
