Great White Attack Kills Western Australian Man


A man believed to be spear-fishing was killed in a great white attack around 44 miles east of Albany on the Western Australian coast. Police confirm the man suffered horrific injuries “consistent with a shark bite.”

It was reported that two men were spear-fishing off the beach when one of them was taken in the great white attack. The body of the man was discovered on Cheynes Beach at around 12:20 p.m. on Sunday, and this is believed to be the 12th fatal shark attack in Western Australia since 2000.

In a statement by the Western Australian Police, they confirm that the Albany police attended an incident in the Cheynes Beach area where a male person is deceased. Based on initial assessments, the horrific injury suffered is consistent with a shark bite, although further investigations will need to be made to confirm this.

According to PerthNow, Rangers from Albany city Council have now placed signs to warn visitors that the beaches between 3 Stripes and Bluff Creek are closed following the fatal shark attack.

According to a tweet from BigBreakingNews, the man was only 17 years old:

This is reportedly the first shark attack in Western Australia since October this year, when a man, Sean Pollard from Bunbury, was attacked by a white pointer. Pollard was surfing off the beach and lost an arm and his other hand in the shark attack. The latest incident is the first fatal attack since a man named Chris Boyd was killed off Gracetown in the South West of the region back in November 2013.

Reportedly, authorities have not yet made a decision to deploy baited drum lines in an attempt to catch the shark.

The Guardian reports the beach where the attack occurred is a popular one for visitors in peak season, and the caravan park is currently full to capacity. A worker at the caravan park did say sharks are not commonly seen in that area, although in April 2013 a huge 4.1 meter great white shark was caught in fishing nets off the beach. It seems herring nets had been set, and the shark was unable to escape and eventually drowned.

Great white attack
Cheynes Beach in Western Australia

This was not the only great white attack on Sunday as the Inquisitr reports a surfer was attacked off California’s central coast. The man was surfing with several other people at Sand Spit Beach in the Montana De Oro State Park when it happened. While he sustained minor injuries from the attack, he managed to reach shore under his own power.

Image credits:

Great white shark in the public domain by sharkdiver68

Cheynes Beach CC BY-ND 2.0 denisbin

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