video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Family and friends held a memorial service on Thursday (February 28) for 46-year-old Adam Strange, who was killed by a shark while swimming at Muriwai Beach west of Auckland on Wednesday (February 27). Fourteen-year-old local surfer George Maoate was only metres from Strange when the attack happened and he described the incident. "Incredibly fast eh, like one second it'd be out and the next second it was gone, disappeared," said Maoate. Television New Zealand reported that Maoate was the last person to speak to Strange. "He said something about training for a competition this weekend, that was the last we heard of him," he said. Video filmed by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter on Wednesday (February 27) showed police circling the shark and firing shots. Up to 12 shots were fired at the shark before it appeared to sink into the ocean, local media reported.