A spear fisherman died this morning after being mauled by a shark in front of his friend off the Australian coast.
The unnamed 38-year-old man was fishing in Horseshoe Reef near Rottnest Island, Western Australia, when the shark struck.
It is not known what type of shark it was, although the death represents the country’s second fatal shark attack this year.
After being taken out of the water in the popular tourist destination, the man was rushed to hospital.
Despite the best efforts of medical staff, he could not be revived and was pronounced dead.
Witnesses reported seeing a 16ft (5m) shark near the reef at around 10am local time, according to coastal safety and rescue organisation Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA).
In a statement following the tragedy, the state’s government said the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) was assisting the police with ‘a serious shark bite’.
It urged the public to take ‘additional caution’ when entering the water around the reef and bay.
Surfers were also advised to follow any beach closures that local authorities often put in place following shark bites.
The attack happened 19.2 miles (32km) west of the state’s capital Perth, police said.
It came two months after a 12-year-old boy was killed by a shark while swimming with his friends in Sydney Harbour.
Nico Antic was with a group of friends who were jumping into the sea from rocks in Vaucluse, around five miles (8km) from the city’s business district.
The attack left the schoolboy with severe injuries to both legs and he could not be saved despite being rushed to hospital.
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A diver was killed in a shark attack near Rottnest Island on October 22, 2011.
Diver George Wainwright, 32, died after being bitten by a Great White , which left him with catastrophic injuries to his torso.
Last year, there were 25 shark attacks on humans off the Australian coast, 22 of which were unprovoked, according to the Australian Shark-Incident Database .
Of these, five were fatal, according to the monitoring organisation.
While recording and publishing the incidents, it pointed out that attacks on humans by sharks remain rare.
Over the same 12-month period, Surf Life Saving Australia reported 357 coastal drowning deaths and there were 1,314 fatalities on Australian roads, it said.
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