A woman was found dead and surrounded by several dingoes on a popular tourist beach. 

The death of a Canadian woman on the K’gari beach in Australia has left police uncertain whether she drowned or was attacked by dingoes found near her body, Australian newspaper Fraser Coast Chronicle reported. She had gone for a swim near the Maheno Shipwreck at around 5am on Monday morning, reports said, and her body was found an hour later, with serious wounds from what appeared to be dingo bites.

Australian ABC News reported that police inspector Paul Algie said “the dingoes had physically been in contact with the body” but also added “we simply can’t confirm whether this young lady drowned or died as a result of being attacked by dingoes,” as quoted by The Sun.

The inspector also said the 19-year-old Canadian citizen had been working at a backpacker’s hostel on the island, off the south east Queensland coast, for the past six weeks.

The woman’s friends and coworkers told police she went swimming soon after 5am on Monday. Two men driving along K’gari’s eastern beach saw the woman’s body about north of the Maheno shipwreck about 6.35am and alerted emergency services, ABC also added. 

The woman was found unresponsive and inspector Algie also said dingoes were seen near the body’s woman. “I can confirm that the dingoes had physically been in contact with the body,” he said. “She was a young woman enjoying a beautiful part of the world, and that’s what makes this such a tragedy,” the inspector also added.

Quoted by The Sun, the inspector also added: “I implore all people that visit K’gari, which is a beautiful place, that you do not go near dingoes, that you do not feed dingoes and that you just leave them to live their life and you need to move around them accordingly.

“Dingoes are wild animals, and whilst they are very culturally and significant to the local First Nations people and to the people that live on the island, they are still wild animals and need to be treated as such.”