As Her Dive-Instructor Boyfriend Lukas Schindler Bravely Fought to Save Her Life – But Failed – a Horrific Attack That Has Left Witnesses Traumatized and Australia Reeling

 November 28, 2025 – “I’m haunted by what I saw…” Those trembling words belong to local teacher Mia Chen, 42, who witnessed the blood-curdling moment 25-year-old Swiss tourist Livia Mulheim was mauled to death by a bull shark off the remote Kylies Beach in Crowdy Bay National Park. As her dive-instructor boyfriend, Lukas Schindler, 26, bravely dived into the churning, crimson water to fight the predator bare-handed in a desperate bid to save her life – but ultimately failed – the attack has left rescuers shell-shocked, witnesses traumatized, and Australia reeling from its 19th shark fatality this year. The couple, on a romantic Australian road trip, had been filming dolphins in the unpatrolled waters when tragedy struck at 6:42 a.m. Thursday, turning a dream anniversary getaway into a nightmare no one can unsee.

Chen, walking her dog along the secluded cove – a spot notorious for shark sightings and plastered with warning signs – heard the first scream. “It wasn’t human – it was primal, like something out of a horror film,” she told ABC News from her Port Macquarie home, her voice breaking as she relived the scene. What she saw froze her in place: the water erupting in foam and blood, Livia thrashing desperately as the 3.5-meter bull shark clamped its jaws around her torso and left arm. Lukas, a recently certified PADI instructor, sprinted across their anchored tinnie and launched himself into the frenzy without hesitation. “He was yelling her name – ‘Livia! Hold on!’ – punching its gills, stabbing with his dive knife,” Chen sobbed. “He pried at the jaws for what felt like forever, dragging her toward the surface. But the shark turned on him – bit his legs twice, deep gashes. She slipped under… and he couldn’t pull her back up.”

The GoPro footage recovered from the capsized boat corroborates Chen’s harrowing account. Timestamped 6:41:23 a.m., it shows the couple laughing and kissing in waist-deep water, Livia calling out in Swiss-German, “This is paradise!” Thirty-seven seconds later, the fin slices the frame, followed by a crimson plume. Lukas’s screams are audible as he wrestles the beast, Livia’s final whisper – “Ich liebe dich” (I love you) – cutting through the thrashing before silence. Lukas surfaced once, gasping her name, before the camera cuts out as the boat tips.

Rescuers from the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter arrived in 11 minutes, winching Lukas aboard with catastrophic leg injuries and arterial damage. He had lost nearly half his blood volume but remained conscious, directing paramedics to Livia’s location. Despite frantic CPR on the beach by bystanders – including Chen, who performed mouth-to-mouth – Livia was pronounced dead at 7:15 a.m. “Lukas fought like a lion – he gave her every chance,” Senior Constable Mark Travers said at a press conference. The bull shark, an aggressive apex predator known for feeding in murky shallows, was tracked but not located; drum lines have closed the beach for 48 hours.

Livia, a Zurich-based investment analyst and former synchronized swimmer, and Lukas, a marathon runner and diving enthusiast, had arrived in Australia in August for a gap-year adventure, planning to settle in Sydney. “She was full of life – judged swim meets, ran 10Ks daily, dreamed of opening a dive school here,” her sister Elena told Blick through tears. Lukas, now in critical but stable condition at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle after 7 hours of surgery, whispered upon waking: “Did I save her?” The family, flying in from Switzerland, clings to hope amid grief.

The attack, Australia’s 19th this year (7 fatal), reignites urgent calls for coastal safety reforms. Bull sharks, driven shoreward by warming waters, prompted a 30% rise in incidents per NSW DPI. “Climate change is pushing predators closer – this wasn’t random,” Dr. Hamish Jolly warned. Lukas’s plea: “The ocean’s changing. Respect it, or lose everything.”

As repatriation plans proceed, Livia’s light endures – a love story that dived into danger and surfaced as legend.