#Woman killed in Maine shark attack identified as NYC resident

The woman killed in a shark attack while swimming off the coast of Maine has been identified as a New York City woman, officials said.

Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, was swimming off the shore of Bailey Island Monday when a witness saw her being attacked by what looked like a shark, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Marine Resources told The Post Tuesday.

A pair of kayakers got Holowach to shore, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, spokesman Jeff Nichols said.

Swimmers and boaters in the area are now being urged to use caution near Bailey Island and should try to stay away from swimming near schools of fish or seals, authorities said.

A press conference will be held at noon to release additional details about the incident, Nichols said.

Attempts to reach relatives of Holowach, who had previous addresses in Chelsea, were not immediately successful.

It’s unclear what type of shark killed Holowach, WGME reports.

The incident marked the state’s first documented fatal shark attack, according to the Portland Press Herald. The only other recorded report of an unprovoked attack involved a scuba diver in Eastport in 2010, according to the newspaper, citing the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File.

“This is the first documented fatality ever in Maine,” James Sulikowski, a former University of New England professor and researcher who studies sharks, told the newspaper late Monday. “Shark interactions with humans are very rare in Maine. My guess is that the person was mistaken for a food item. In this area of Maine and depending on how close to shore the event occurred, my guess is it was a white shark.”