Heroic action without a happy ending: two surfers fought a rough shark off the east coast of australia on sunday and pulled another surfer, who had been bitten by the animal, to the beach.
But his left leg injuries were too severe – the 60-year-old from the state of queensland died despite immediate treatment, police reported. It is assumed that the three meter long attacker was a female shark. The attack occurred at the popular salt beach near kingscliff, 800 kilometers north of sydney.
The nearby beaches were then cleared, bathers and surfers had to leave the waters. Helicopters set off in search of the shark. A female shark was spotted and tracked. The beaches were initially to remain closed for 24 hours for the police investigation.
It was the third deadly shark attack this year in australian waters. In addition, there were seven other attacks, but they did not end fatally.
The spokesman for the rescue services, terry savage, told the ABC that the man's injuries were significant. The incident is very disturbing. He described the two men who fought the shark and helped the injured man ashore as "unbelievable". "It was downright heroic to bring him to the beach."
James owen, a member of the local surf club, told the "sydney morning herald" the death was a "terrible, tragic event. "It's a shock for everyone at the moment."He was not aware of any previous fatal shark attacks in the area.
Stuart gonsal, who lives in kingscliff, told ABC he had just arrived at the beach to surf when the police called people out of the water. There had been a lot of fish in the waters recently, many fishing boats had been on the water.