Featured Image Credit: ABC News
Topics: Australia, Sharks, Shark Attacks
Anish Vij
A husband issued a heartbreaking tribute to his wife after she was tragically killed by a shark.
Rob Armstrong lost his wife Christine after she crossed paths with a 13ft shark on her morning swim along Australia's New South Wales coast on 3 April, 2014.
The 'teenage sweethearts' headed from Tathra Wharf to Tathra Beach with four friends - 200 miles (320km) south of Sydney - as Rob explained how it was a 'completely clear' day with 'fine conditions'.
Christine, an experienced swimmer, said she was struggling with spinal pain and had decided to turn back to shore early.
However, when the group emerged from the water, they realised the 63-year-old was nowhere to be seen. Rob also noticed a 'seagull flying close to his head', usually a sign that a shark was in the area before he saw a fin.
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"I stopped and the fin started coming up and I thought: dolphin? No, that's not a dolphin." he said.
Although Christine had 14 years of swimming experience in the area, she unfortunately came across the 13ft shark.
Rob told ABC News at the time: "I know that if I don't face this now it will be worse later. So I need to face it now, and that's why I'm exposing myself as much as I am. It will make it better later, and I know that.
"We lost a daughter...when we were quite young. I have to say, those things can kill a marriage or bind you together, and it bound us together, inseparably.
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"We didn't face it as well as we should have, because everyone told us to get on with our lives and not mourn. I know now how bad that was, and I know how important it is now to face this and to get rid of the grief.
"I know it will never go away, but it'll just get shorter."
Her goggles, swimming cap and human remains washed up on the shore the following day, confirming the worst fears of Christine's loved ones.
Search crews were sent out into the water to try and find her body, although her husband of 44 years eventually accepted that she had been 'consumed completely' by the underwater animal.
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Speaking to reporters in 2014, he added: "The shark was such a size and it's consumed her basically completely - she wouldn't have even known it happened."
Rob said he had 'never been apart' from his late wife until that fateful day a decade ago. He continued to say: "She went with a happy state of mind, and we both had said to each other that you do things that you love. We wouldn't have lived if we hadn't done those things."
Christine's family also said at the time of her passing: "She will be sadly missed by all who loved her, especially by Rob, her husband of 44 years.
"She has been swimming at Tathra Beach for 14 years and was an experienced and committed member of the surf club."
The same year, he returned to the beach to pay tribute to Christine, where they had a 'ceremonial back-in-the-water swim', according to friend Tony Rettke, who joined him (via ABC News).