<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/sharks" rel="" target="" title="shark "><span>shark</span></a><span> attacked and killed an American woman along a beach in St Croix in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US "><span>US</span></a><span> Virgin Islands, officials said on Friday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police identified the victim as 56-year-old Arlene Lillis of Minnesota.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A hometown wasn’t immediately available.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/live-updates-victoria-fires-heatwaves-nsw-evacuations-warnings-queensland-cyclone-australia-news/83f99d75-21ac-420c-b716-4b02168bebd9" rel="" target="" title="Great Ocean Road at risk as authorities fear fires could burn for weeks"><strong><span>Great Ocean Road at risk as authorities fear fires could burn for weeks</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities said the attack occurred close to shore on western St. Croix on Thursday afternoon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police and other emergency crews responded to the beach, where crews worked “swiftly and professionally under very extreme and difficult circumstances” to treat Lillis, said Daryl Jaschen, director of the Virgin Islands’ emergency management agency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-set-for-intense-heat/99df6d08-5ded-4d24-a90e-1eb77a0307d2" rel="" target="" title=" Hundreds of firefighters on standby as Sydney tops 40 degrees"><strong><span>Hundreds of firefighters on standby as Sydney tops 40 degrees</span></strong></a></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/officials-say-a-shark-killed-an-american-woman-along-a-beach-in-the-us-virgin-islands/c59550a1-0f51-486f-921c-280cc3e56c9f" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lillis, who was a frequent visitor to the U S territory, was taken to a local hospital for further treatment but died from her injuries, according to Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police said they were initially told there may have been a second victim, but a perimeter search by authorities did not discover any other victims.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials said they have not yet confirmed what type of shark was involved in the attack. They said that while shark sightings are common, attacks in the US Virgin Islands are unusual.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-cyclone-warning-severe-weather-forecast-heavy-rain-updates/41d13e7e-3d9c-43f8-9326-da96909c22b6"><strong><span>'High' chance of cyclone as rain sweeps Queensland coast</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“Encounters that result in a bite are very rare,” said Nicole Angeli of the US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources at Friday’s news conference.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said Thursday’s attack was the second such incident in a decade, and that there are plans to put up more signs and share more information at hotels and beaches on how to be safe around wildlife.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Jaschen, of the emergency management agency, said the investigation into the attack is ongoing, and that he could not immediately say what may have caused the shark to come so close to the shore.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Overall, at least 79 unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in the Caribbean since 1749, including four in the US Virgin Islands, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lidija-faamau-liverpool-crash-woman-dies-sydney-nsw/7422332d-3afb-4437-a01d-302cbbbd8aab"><strong><span>Medical student, 21, dies a month after Sydney police pursuit crash</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div>