Surfer killed by shark off WA coast

Updated

A surfer has been killed by what is believed to be a great white shark near Wedge Island, about 160 kilometres north of Perth.

The man was paddling on his surfboard near Wedge Island at 9.00am (AWST) on Saturday when a shark lunged out of the water and took him under.

Police know the man's identity, but they are unable to release it at this stage.

A man who tried to help the surfer says when he attempted to get close to the body, the shark attacked his jet-ski before taking the man.

"I was towing my mate on the back of the jet-ski and just in front of us saw a guy get attacked by a shark," he told the ABC.

"I just took my mate to the shore and went straight out and there was just blood everywhere and a massive, massive white shark circling the body.

"I reached to grab the body and the shark came at me on the jet-ski and tried to knock me off and I did another loop and when I came to back to the body the shark took it."

The victim's body is yet to be recovered.

The Department of Fisheries is searching for the shark responsible for the attack.

Tony Cappelluti from the department says if the shark is found, it will be killed.

"We'll go right through to nightfall tonight, we will then resume that tomorrow [Sunday] morning and make some decisions tomorrow," he said.

Dandaragan Shire president Shane Love says beaches in the area have been closed.

He says it is a tragic day for the community.

"Whenever a thing like this happens in a coastal community it gives everyone a bit of a shock," he said.

"It's a very sad time for the person and family concerned and our thoughts are with them.

"At the moment our community services coordinator and our head ranger are on their way to Wedge Island to assist police and others down there with closing the beach and whatever else is needed to handle the situation."

Saturday's incident is the fifth fatal attack in the state in 10 months - an unprecedented number that sparked calls earlier this year for a cull.

WA's Fisheries Minister Norman Moore says the latest attack is of great concern to the State Government.

"This is a very distressing event and to add to the previous four fatalities, it is of great concern to me and to the fisheries department, indeed the Government as a whole," he said.

"I have to say that it is becoming quite perplexing. We have allocated some $14 million extra to get a better understanding of the great white sharks and the reasons why the fatalities are occurring.

"But we have another one today. I have to say I am quite perplexed and wondering what we do next, we have done everything so far in the last little while to deal with the issues as we understand them, but I'm open to any suggestions from anybody as to where we go to now because we seriously have got a problem and this is a very distressing occurrence."

Topics: shark, emergency-incidents, police, cervantes-6511, perth-6000

First posted