Recovery efforts are underway for a missing surfer after bite marks were discovered on a surf board.
The incident marks the fourth reported fatal shark attack in Australia in recent months.
Senior Sergeant Christopher Taylor of the Western Australia Police Force said, “Our search has shifted from a rescue to a recovery operation.” The surfer’s body has not yet been recovered.
The police statement further reported, “A surfboard with evidence of bite marks was recovered from the water.”
According to media reports, a shark was seen in the water near Wharton beach just before the attack, and screams were heard from the area where the man was surfing around midday. He was in chest-deep water about 50 meters from the shore with two other surfers at the time of the incident. Unfortunately, the other surfers were unable to assist him.
In February, another fatal shark attack occurred when a 17-year-old girl was killed while swimming off an eastern Australian island. A 28-year-old surfer also lost his life in South Australia due to a shark bite a month earlier.
On December 28, a 40-year-old man died after a shark attacked him while spearfishing off Queensland.
