5-meter white shark kills surfer in Australia

A huge white shark killed a 59-year-old surfer on the beaches of northern Sydney (Australia).

Emergency services said the incident happened around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday when they received a report that a man had been bitten by a shark while surfing.

NSW Police reported that first responders found the man with “Critical injuries in the upper part of the right thigh”.

They took him out of the water and tried to resuscitate him, but could not revive him.

According to the rescuers, man was on city beach on surf vacation with friends.

Superintendent Christopher Schilt said the man saw the shark before it attacked and tried to alert other surfers. “It is believed that when the attack took place the man actually saw the shark and called to try and warn others and very heroically his friends were able to bring him back to shore after being attacked., He said.

To identify the animal, forensics at Sydney’s Department of Primary Industries analyzed the bites and determined they came from a white shark about four and a half meters.

The incident with the surfer prompted the authorities to close the beaches for at least 24 hours.

According to testimony from ABC Australia, local surfers on the beaches said the attack was “unprecedented”.

“I don’t remember ever having a shark attack in this area”, said Brian Wilcox of the local branch of Surf Life Saving, an entity responsible for looking after the lives of surfers.

Wilcox said several sharks have been seen in the water since the incident.

“We had a drone in the air to see if we could spot any sharks in the area. There were a few sharks sighted ”, he claimed.

Damage to the table is also examined by forensics to find more clues indicating the species and characteristics of the shark.

According to the authorities, any shark caught will be tagged and released 1 kilometer from the coast.

Surf rescuers will continue to conduct drone patrols around Tuncurry Beach, the site of the incident, for the next few days.

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