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SYDNEY — A man died after being attacked by a shark off Australia's southwest coast on Sunday, officials said, adding that patrols of the area would be increased.

The West Australian state government said the attack occurred near Cull Island, about 4 miles off the mainland's Esperance coast.

Australia is known for a large number of unprovoked shark encounters with humans.

The attack on Sunday led to the first death in Esperance since 2017, although there have been fatal attacks elsewhere in the country since then.

In October, a British man had his foot bitten off and another person was injured when they were attacked by a shark off Australia's northeast coast.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the man who was killed Sunday was a diver and that marine police were still searching for his body, while a woman on a dive boat had been taken to hospital suffering from shock. It was not known whether the man was a local resident or a tourist.

The state government did not immediately reply to requests for comment, while state police declined to comment when contacted by phone.