It was the first fatal shark attack Down Under that year. Rescue workers had tried to revive the Sufer. He died on the beach.
Sydney (AP) – A surfer was killed in a shark attack on the Australian east coast. The man was around 50 years old and was bitten in the right thigh in Tuncurry Beach about 300 kilometers north of Sydney, the police in the state of New South Wales said on Tuesday.
Rescue workers pulled the seriously injured man out of the water in the morning (local time) and tried to revive him. However, the Australian died on the beach.
It was the first fatal shark attack Down Under that year. The beach, also known as Nine Mile Beach, and Forster Main Beach a little further north were initially closed. It is still unclear which type of shark was responsible for the attack. The authorities wanted to search the water with surveillance drones, among other things.
Last year Australia had a record of fatal attacks by the dreaded predatory fish: Eight people were bitten to death – more than since 1934. Over the past five decades, the country has seen an average of one fatal attack per year – and none at all in 2019. According to the shark attack statistics of the Australian Nature Conservation Association Taronga, two people were injured in attacks this year, but the Tuncurry Beach surfer is the first to die.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210518-99-642534 / 3
Tweet from the New South Wales Emergency Doctors
9News report
Notice from the New South Wales Police
ABC report
Statistic Taronga
