WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A missing surfer in Australia is presumed dead the shark attack, authorities said Friday, when the man disappeared while searching the water.
The 28-year-old was in the sea at a popular surfing beach in South Australia, where another man was killed by a great white shark in 2023.
She saw the shark attack on Thursday evening at Granites Beach, near the coastal town of Streaky Bay, went into the sea on a jet ski and retrieved the man’s surfboard, Senior Constable Rebecca Stokes told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“But there was no sign of this young man, no sign of him,” Stokes told the ABC. “We’re pretty sure from the eyewitness descriptions, unfortunately, that this shark killed him.”
The beach was known to be frequented by sharks, Stokes said. He did not specify which species of shark was believed to be involved.
Emergency responders and volunteers were searching the coast Friday for the local man and the beach was closed to the public. Police were preparing the court report, it said in a statement.
Shark attacks in Australia are rare, 255 deadly bites It has been recorded since 1791 in the country of 27 million people, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.
But the state of South Australia has recorded more episodes than usual in the past two years. In 2023 there were five shark attacks on the coast of the state, three of them fatal and one on the same beach as Thursday’s incident.
Scientists at the time said they did not know the reason for the clusters. There was a non-fatal shark bite off the coast of South Australia in 2024.
