Surfer dies after WA shark attack at Gracetown

Written by:
Hans Kruit, 23 November 2013

A man has died after an apparent great white shark attack off the West Australian coast.

The WA fisheries department issued an imminent threat order after the attack at Gracetown, 270 kilometres south of Perth, on Saturday morning.
St John Ambulance staff and police attended the scene shortly after 9am local time and discovered the man, believed to be in his early 20s.

Police said his injuries were consistent with those received in a shark attack and, according to witnesses, the man's arm was missing and he was dead when he was dragged from the water. A helicopter was used to remove the body of the man, who had been surfing on his own.

The site of the attack, Lefthanders Beach, and several other beaches in the area were closed.
The Department of Fisheries issued an imminent threat order on the shark responsible, with fisheries and marine officers sent to the scene with capture gear to deploy in the surrounding waters.

A fisheries spokesman said the threat order was not a kill order and a full assessment would be done on the shark if it was caught.

Hans
source: The Sunday Morning Herald

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