A man has been killed by a suspected great white shark in Australia in what is thought to be the country’s first deadly attack this year.
The surfer, in his 50s, was catching the morning waves off the coast of Forster, 137 miles north of Sydney, when the shark attacked.
Beachgoers pulled the man from the water and he suffered critical injuries to his upper right thigh, according to police.
However he was unable to be resuscitated despite paramedics’ best efforts to save him, the Ambulance Service said.
Medics were called to Tuncurry beach, off the New South Wales coast, at around 11am on Tuesday following reports of an attack. A rescue helicopter and several emergency crews were sent to the shoreline.
Shark scientists from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industry have since determined a white shark about 4.5m long is likely responsible for the attack after analysing photos of the bite.
Police revealed how the man had tried to warn three of his friends, who were also in the water, before the shark turned on him, according to local news reports.
“It’s believed that when the attack occurred the man did actually see the shark and called out to try to warn others and very heroically his friends were able to bring him back into shore after he had been attacked,” Supt Int Chris Schilt told news.com.au.
Forster beaches were closed and SMART drumlines were deployed at the beach following the fatality.
Lower North Coast Surf Life Saving branch president Brian Wilcox said a drone search after the attack had spotted two sharks in the area.
“It’s pretty unprecedented. I can’t recall ever having a shark attack in this area,” Wilcox told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We’ll do drone missions for the next couple of days, within the Tuncurry Beach area, just to make sure there are no sharks hanging around.”
The man’s name has not been released. It was the first fatal shark attack in Australia since November when a 55-year-old surfer was mauled near the northwest town of Broome.
