Seek for lacking surfer now a restoration operation after proof of chunk marks discovered on surf board.
Australian police have confirmed {that a} surfer who went lacking was “taken by a shark” after search and rescue groups recovered a surfboard scarred with “chunk marks” from the world of the assault.
The sufferer – recognized by Australian media as 37-year-old Steven Payne – was mauled by a shark whereas browsing at Wharton seaside in a distant space of Western Australia, police mentioned late on Tuesday.
It marks Australia’s fourth reported deadly shark assault in latest months.
“I can verify that our search is a restoration, not a rescue,” Western Australia Police Drive Senior Sergeant Christopher Taylor mentioned, noting that the surfer’s physique has not been recovered.
“A surfboard with proof of chunk marks was recovered from the water,” Western Australia Police mentioned in a separate assertion on Tuesday.
In keeping with media studies, a shark was noticed simply moments earlier than the assault within the water off Wharton seaside and screams have been heard coming from the world the place the person was browsing at about noon.
Australia’s 7News community mentioned the sufferer was in chest-deep water about 50 metres (164 toes) from the shore with two different surfers when he was attacked. Police mentioned the opposite surfers have been unable to do something to assist.
In February, a shark killed a 17-year-old woman swimming off an japanese Australian island, whereas a 28-year-old surfer was fatally bitten in South Australia a month earlier.
On December 28, a shark fatally bit a 40-year-old man within the neck as he was spearfishing off Queensland.
