A GIRL bitten in half by a shark while snorkelling 5m from the shore on Reunion Island has been named as Sarah Roperth.

The 15-year-old was born in Reunion but lived in Bressuire, France with her mother. She was holidaying on the French island with her father, who is treasurer at the sailing club at Saint Paul, on the west coast of the Indian Ocean island.

Sarah died instantly when attacked by a shark as she swam in the shallows not far from the sailing club and the local cemetery.

She had been swimming with another girl who saw the attack unfold.

The teenager's body was sliced in two at the torso, and then "'a part of her body was taken away by the shark", said Gina Hoarau, the head of public safety on the island.

Authorities are still searching for some of her remains.

One local said Sarah was not a tourist and knew the beach well, having spent every summer vacation in the area.

As gendarmes patrolled the beach where Sarah was killed and coastguard vessels and helicopters continued searching for her body, locals gathered to express their shock and anger at the attack.

St Paul resident Jean-Philippe, blamed local government officials for the tragedy.

"The population suffers to see this child eaten by a predator on the edge of the shore," he told French media.

He said the authorities were to blame for banning dive fishing in the area, allowing sharks to proliferate.

"This little girl was not a tourist," Jean-Philippe said. "Her father lives (on Reunion) for a long time and she bathes here since childhood.

"But she had not been told that the island had changed ... it is as if it had put poison in the sea without notifying anyone.''

Another resident said: "There signs everywhere to prevent drownings, but not one to indicate that there is a risk of shark attack!"

"The sea is beautiful here, tourists may not know of the danger," he added.

Clotiled, who works at the Grand Bay restaurant, which overlooks the beach where Sarah was killed, said: "We see few people bathe here.

"People know that there are sharks here, but it is necessary to put up signs."

Authorities said there had been signs at the beach in the past, but they were often vandalised or removed.

Reunion's chief minister, Jean-Luc Marx, has launched a hunt for the shark responsible for the attack.

Deputy Mayor of Saint Paul, Huguette Bello, expressed "compassion" for Sarah's family and urged people to be careful at the beach.

Sarah's death is the fifth from shark attacks on Reunion Island since 2011.

The last death was in May this year when surfer Stephane Berhamel was killed while surfing on his honeymoon.

Since that attack, there had been at least eight shark sightings in the area.

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