SYDNEY — A man was killed by a shark while swimming off a beach in Byron Bay on the New South Wales coast Tuesday morning.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that the man, aged in his 50s, died on Clarkes Beach after his right leg was bitten off by a great white shark.

The victim has been identified as Paul Wilcox, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday night.

Paul Wilcox and his wife of 24 years, Victoria. Image: Facebook

Wilcox, who is originally from Warwickshire, England, was taken by the shark during his morning swim while his wife of 24 years, Victoria, was on the beach. The couple were meant to meet visiting friends at 11.30am for coffee.

The English expat is an entrepreneur who set up his own business in Australia, Refocus, to coach executives on time management and communication skills, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A witness who found the man's body in the water called emergency services at 10.42 a.m., local time. The caller said the victim had a very serious bite on his right leg, caused by a shark.

A massive shark spotted off Byron Bay. A local man died after he was attacked this morning. | http://t.co/tD6kMaese4 pic.twitter.com/p0DCmwK1yL — 7News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) September 9, 2014

Paddleboarder Mark Hickey, on holiday from Newcastle, was first on the scene. He saw Wilcox in shallow, bloody water close to the shore and rushed in to save him despite the shark still circling the area. Hickey dragged the victim onto the beach at the popular Australian tourist destination.

“I just thought he may still be alive and I wanted to get him onto the shore,” Hickey told The Australian about his courageous decision to go into the water.

“It was really terrible. I just felt so bad for the guy and his family. I just wanted to do all I could to help him,” he said.

A rescue helicopter and paramedics were called to the scene as a doctor, who happened to be on the beach, attempted to resuscitate Wilcox. Despite these attempts, he was pronounced dead on the beach.

A man in his 40s has died after being attacked by a shark at Clarkes Beach, Byron Bay. Here' a photo of the scene pic.twitter.com/BuN2u7d9gr — ABC News 24 (@ABCNews24) September 9, 2014

A large crowd has gathered at the site of a fatal shark attack at Byron Bay. @abcnews pic.twitter.com/XfRQan9BB9 — Tom Forbes (@tomforbes72) September 9, 2014

The shark responsible for the attack appears to be a large great white and continued to lurk near the shore on Tuesday, Nine News reported.

Shark near Byron Bay. Pic via Westpac chopper northern region pic.twitter.com/3f0MoRlj4u — Hayden Nelson (@haydennelson) September 9, 2014

Witness, surfer Daniel Toole, 26, said he was "rattled" by the disturbing incident.

"Everyone [was] yelling at me to come in, so I ran in and dropped the board, and everyone had got to him and were trying to help him," he told ABC News.

"They were giving him CPR and just trying to get him back and everyone ringing all the ambos and that, and just trying to get help. [I'm] pretty rattled."

There have been two fatal shark attacks this year in Australia. A 63-year-old woman was killed off the east coast of Australia in April, while a 28-year-old spear fisherman was taken off the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia in February this year.

A recent report showed Australia has the most fatal shark attacks in the world, with 32 deaths in the last three decades.