Shark Kills Australian Surfer

A surfer in Australia has died after he was attacked by a shark while surfing alone in a beach near Perth. Apparently, sharks are regularly spotted at the Gracetown beach but shark attacks are rare.

An Australian man died following a shark attack in Western Australia on Tuesday, close to the tourist town of Margaret River.

The 31-year-old was surfing south of Perth when a shark attacked him. He was pulled out of the water unconscious with a big bite on his leg.

[Craig Anderson, Police Officer]: (English)
"A local couple out for an early morning walk, out of the Gracetown memorial from the lookout observed the young fellow sitting on his board out in the break waiting to catch a wave, when they've got to the next vantage point they've then just seen the board sitting on the water on its own, they obviously just realized that the fellow was in the water. And they got a bit further and actually seen him floating in the water and gone to his assistance and dragged him out."

Local residents who witnessed the incident were shocked.

[Rob Alder, Local Resident]: (English)
"My friend Craig had already found him on the shore line, brought him up out of the shore break, together we got him onto my surfboard and put the leg board on as a tourniquet around his thigh and started giving him mouth to mouth and CPR."

Shark sightings are common in Australian waters, but fatal attacks are rare.

Another surfer died in the area six years ago.