Pack of 'Mixed-Breed' Dogs Maul Woman to Death

A woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in Maryborough, a city three hours north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, in what Wade Lee, an acting inspector for the Maryborough patrol group, called a "tragic accident." The dogs are likely to be put down, according to The Guardian.

"There isn't any criminal nature to what's happened, it is merely a tragic set of circumstances that has ended up in this lady being killed by the dogs," Lee told The Brisbane Times. The dogs were being kept in an "enclosed yard" at the time of the attack, according to Yahoo! News Australia.

Just after 9 a.m. local time, police received a report that a woman had been set upon by several dogs in the backyard of a local home, according to Yahoo! She was apparently pet-sitting the animals for a friend. When officers arrived at the home, they found the woman had sustained "serious injuries" to her head, chest, and left arm, according to 9news.com.au. Try as they might, paramedics could not resuscitate her. She died at the scene.

While officers had not managed to identify the woman as of 4:25 p.m. local time, they believe she was in her later 30's or early 40's, according to 9news.com.au. The cause of the attack was not immediately clear, but Lee told the Times the dogs did not appear to have a history of aggression.

"The dogs at this point haven't been established as dogs of a dangerous nature, but in saying that, the investigation is still in its infancy," he said.

Three of the animals, which the Times and several other local outlets identified as crossbreeds, were responsible for the attack and the woman's subsequent death. They were corralled into a shed on the property and have since been taken into custody by the Fraser Coast Regional Council, which is expected to decide their fate, according to the Times.

"Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of the woman who has died in tragic circumstances today," a spokesperson for the council said. He added he could not comment further because the incident was the subject of an active police investigation.

While dog attacks are relatively rare, they do occur, sometimes with fatal consequences for the victim or victims. Earlier this month, a dog of an unknown breed killed a three-month-old girl in Clashmore, County Waterford, Ireland. And in May, two Rottweilers killed a 10-month-old baby in Willow Springs, North Carolina.