A 19-year-old Canadian woman has been found dead, her body surrounded by a pack of dingoes, on a popular Australian beach, according to local officials.
Queensland Police said in a press release that the body of the tourist, whose name has not been revealed, was found around 06:30 local time on Monday (20:30 GMT on Sunday) on the beach on Kgari Island off the east coast of Australia.
Police Inspector Paul Algie told local media that two men driving along the beach spotted a group of about 10 dingoes around an object and realized it was the body of a woman.
He added that the police are investigating the incident, but they cannot confirm whether she died due to drowning or an animal attack.
However, Algie said there were marks on the body “consistent with dingoes being touched and interfered with”.
“It was obviously a very painful and horrific scene for them to uncover,” he said.
Australian ABC News reported that the woman, who had been working at a backpacker hostel for the past six weeks, told her friends that she would go swimming at 05:00 in the morning.
“She was a young woman enjoying a beautiful part of the world, and that’s what makes this a tragedy,” Algie said.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
Her body was found near the wreck of the Maheno, which was wrecked and washed ashore in 1935 – and her skeletal remains became a popular tourist destination.
The area is famous for the presence of dingoes, a wild type of dog that is protected in Queensland’s National Parks as a native species.
“Kjari is a wilderness area,” Alji told local media, warning people to avoid getting close to the animals.
“Dingoes are wild animals, and although they are of great cultural importance to local First Nations peoples and to the people who live on the island, they are still wild animals and need to be treated as such.”