A missing surfer is feared dead after a shark attack at Wharton Beach in Western Australia, one of the country's most popular surfing spots.
Police reported the 30-year-old Melbourne man was seen in distres, following screams from witnesses before he disappeared.
Emergency services were called to the beach after reports of a possible shark attack. The surfer’s board, showing clear bite marks, was later retrieved, but his body remains missing. Police Commissioner Col Blanch confirmed that authorities suspect it will be a recovery operation.
Drone footage captured by a witness showed a shark swimming away from a cloud of blood near the shoreline. The surfer’s family has been notified, though they do not expect him to be found alive. The man had been traveling with his girlfriend, and they were planning to meet his family later in the week.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the beach, with one beachgoer, Joscelin Boissieux, recalling the surfer’s partner in a panic, as the group scrambled to leave the water. "There were people saying like ‘get out’, everything. It was a very panicked moment," she told 9News.
The beach was closed, with authorities warning visitors of the shark in the area. Police, Marine Rescue, and State Emergency Service teams launched a search operation, but the surfer has yet to be located.
If confirmed, this would be the fourth shark attack fatality in the region since 2017, two of which involved great white sharks. The coastal community was shaken by the deaths of two locals in shark attacks in 2020.
While shark attacks are rare in Australia, the nation has recorded 255 fatal shark incidents since 1791, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.
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