Swiss dive instructor risked his life to rescue girlfriend from shark attack

3 months ago 18

A Swiss exchange student who recently qualified as a diving instructor heroically fought off a bull shark mauling his girlfriend before carrying her to shore, and raised the alarm after being bitten twice on the leg himself.

Lukas Schindler, 26, and his 25-year-old girlfriend Livia Muhlheim, also a Swiss national, were swimming near the remote Kylies Beach campground about four hours north of Sydney when what authorities believe was a mature bull shark at least three metres long attacked them just after 6am Thursday.

Lukas Schindler survived Thursday’s shark attack at Kylies Beach. In August he completed the Sydney Marathon.

The 25-year-old was attacked moments after her GoPro captured her swimming with dolphins. Muhlheim was bitten several times and lost her left arm in the fatal attack.

Schindler, who according to his LinkedIn profile completed an exchange semester at the University of Technology Sydney from July to November this year, swam out to his girlfriend and was bitten twice on the right leg while trying to punch the shark.

In August, Schindler ran the Sydney Marathon in a time of 2 hours and 59 minutes, according to the race’s official results website.

Despite his injuries, Schindler swam his girlfriend back to shore, retrieved his phone and ran up the beach to call emergency services. His life was likely saved by a passer-by, praised by authorities for their quick thinking, who applied a makeshift tourniquet to his injured leg. Muhlheim died on the beach.

Schindler was airlifted to John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, after the attack.

Schindler was flown to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital, where he remained in a stable condition on Friday.

Police are reviewing the couple’s GoPro footage, which captured dolphins in the water moments before the attack. It is unclear if the attack was captured on camera. A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Schindler completed a diving instructors’ course at a Bondi dive centre, according to an online review posted last week.

Schindler completed a bachelor of business administration at the University of St Gallen in 2024 and was studying a master’s degree in general management, according to his LinkedIn profile.

According to the profile, Schindler has worked as a security supervisor at the World Economic Forum and was a first lieutenant in the Swiss Armed Forces.

The couple were swimming at Kylies Beach when they were attacked by a shark.

Campers said Schindler and his girlfriend had arrived at the Mid North Coast campsite late on Wednesday night and set out for an early morning swim at the unpatrolled beach at first light on Thursday.

Drum lines and drones were on Thursday deployed to track down the shark believed to have attacked the couple.

Thursday’s attack came less than three months after a shark fatally attacked 57-year-old surfer Mercury Psillakis at Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches in September. His widow, Maria Psillakis, has called for an overhaul of alert systems at Sydney beaches.

Shark receivers, which ping when a tagged animal swims within 500 metres, are in place at 37 beaches along the NSW coast between Tweed Heads and Bega. There is no receiver at Kylies Beach, with the closest located at Old Bar, about 30 kilometres south.

Police on Thursday contacted the Consulate General of Switzerland in Sydney and the couple’s family abroad. The Herald has made attempts to contact the couple’s family.

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