Surfers missing after suspected shark attack on Western Australia beach
A surfboard was recovered from the water at Wylie Bay but the male surfer has not been located, a police spokesman says
Authorities are responding to reports of a shark attack at a popular West Australian beach. A surfer who is missing after a shark attack in Western Australia was in the water with others at the time but could not be brought to shore.
A surfer is missing following a possible shark attack near Esperance in Western Australia with authorities recovering a surfboard from the water.
A marine search and rescue team is at Kelp Beds beach in Wylie Bay looking for the man after a possible shark bite was reported at 10.50am local time on Friday.
Reports of the mauling were made from Kelp Beds Beach in the Esperance area shortly before 11am (WST) on Friday, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said.
A WA police spokeswoman said an operation was going on Friday afternoon involving police, ambulance and fisheries personnel.
“A surfboard was recovered from the water but the surfer has not been located. The surfer is believed to be an adult male,” the spokeswoman said. The beach is now closed.
No victim has been found but a surfboard has been recovered from the water, WA Police said in a statement.
The missing surfer is believed to be an adult male.
Laeticia Brouwer, 17, died following a shark bite at the same beach in April 2017.
A statement from the WA primary industries department said it was helping police with “a serious shark bite incident at Kelp Beds beach in Esperance”.
The statement said the boats were under water as part of a maritime search and rescue operation. Beaches from Willie Head to Cape Le Grand National Park have been closed.Earlier this week, drone footage captured professional surfer Matt Wilkinson narrow escape of a magnificent white shark about 2.5 meters off the coast of Ballina, northern New South Wales.
There have been six deaths from shark bites in Australia in 2020.In January, 57-year-old veteran diver Gary Johnson was killed by a shark near Kullu Island on the southern coast of Western Australia.In April, a shark from North West Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef killed a 23-year-old Queensland wildlife ranger, Zachary Roba.
Gold Coast surfer Rob Pedretti, 60, died after he was attacked at Salt Beach at South Kingscliff in northern NSW in June.
In July, a 36-year-old Sunshine Coast man died after being mauled while spearfishing off Queensland’s Fraser Island.
Later the same month, a teenager died while surfing at Wilsons Headland at Wooli Beach of northern NSW.A 46-year-old Gold Coast man, Nick Slater, died in September after being bitten by a shark while surfing at Greenmount Beach at Coolangatta.
A shark had reportedly been sighted in the Kelp Beds area just after 9am and a warning sign installed at the beach around 9.20am.
Esperance Police, St John Ambulance, Marine Rescue Esperance and Surf Life Saving WA have all been deployed to the area.
“Our thoughts are for the family involved,” Laeticia’s father Leon said in a statement provided to.
“We are OK.
“It does bring back pain, of course, but we really feel for the Esperance community again.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, WA Premier Mark McGowan said a “very difficult and potentially tragic situation” had unfolded in Esperance.
Mr McGowan said WA’s south coast, particularly around Esperance, was a known breeding ground for great white sharks and home to large seal colonies.
He said the government had taken extra safety measures to protect swimmers and surfers including helicopter patrols, monitoring stations and subsided shark shields.
“I’ve done a lot but clearly there’s always a risk when you go in the water,” Mr McGowan said.
