SYDNEY — A 55-year-old man who was body-boarding died Sunday after he was attacked by a shark in Western Australia, in the eighth fatal incident this year.
The man, who has not been identified, was pulled from the water near Cable Beach around 8:40 a.m. with serious injuries. He was treated by police before paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.
“It’s a tragic incident, very unexpected, a person going out to have a bit of fun in the water,” Kimberley District Office Police Inspector Gene Pears.
Police shot at the shark which continued swimming in the area for about a half-an-hour after the attack. Witnesses thought it was a tiger shark, which are drawn to the coast to feed.
The victim was body-boarding about 130 feet from the beach when a couple saw the attack. A man rushed into the water and dragged the victim to shore. The man suffered injuries to his leg and hand.
Rangers closed the beach and a boat was assigned to patrol the area.
The last fatal attack was Oct. 9 in Western Australia. The man, Andrew Sharpe, was dragged from his surfboard. His body was not found after a three day search. His surfboard and parts of his wetsuit were recovered.
There were no fatal attacks in Australia last year, CNN reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
