Fears over shark attack after surfer disappears in water
An urgent search has been launched for a man in his 20s after he went missing in a suspected shark attack in Australia.
The alarm was raised after an experienced surfer is thought to have been attacked at Granites Beach on South Australia’s remote Eyre Peninsula today.
The suspected shark attack happened shortly after 7pm local time at the popular surfing spot.
Search and rescue teams scoured the water for hours before announcing they would resume again on Friday morning, ABC News reports.
The surfer, who is yet to be named, was reportedly home visiting his family for Christmas, according to Daily Mail Australia.
Beachgoers have been told to stay away for the time being.
A local fisherman allegedly saw a great white shark in the area just hours before the man went missing, the outlet reports citing his Instagram post.
Another surfer, Tod Gendle, 55, was killed at the same beach while out on his board in October 2023.
Last year, a 15-year-old surfer Khai Cowley lost his life in a suspected great white attack on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.
Elsewhere in Australia, Luke Walford, a church pastor, was mauled to death by a shark last week while spearfishing at the Great Barrier Reef.
Shark attacks in Australia more than doubled in 2023, with research suggesting that surfers were more prevalent in data than swimmers or waders.
In 2023, there were ten fatal attacks globally and four of them were in Australia.
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