Sydney, Sept 20. (dpa/GNA) – A swimmer was missing on Friday, after a suspected shark attack off the coast of the Western Australian city of Perth, local media reported.
The man was attacked around 50 metres off Sorrento Beach in the city’s north, according to witnesses and police cited by Australian media.
A nurse who witnessed the incident told the Sydney Morning Herald, she saw the man was “mauled” as the shark “tossed him around like a fish.”
Another witness told public broadcaster ABC she saw blood in the water following the attack.
The missing man was apparently swimming with another person, who managed to make it back to shore.
Police and a police helicopter were involved in the search for the missing swimmer.
Sorrento Beach, around 20 kilometres north of central Perth, will remain closed to swimmers until at least Saturday, according to the state-run SharkSmart platform.
The incident came just days after a 56-year-old surfer was attacked by a shark at Glenfield Beach, more than 400 kilometres north of Perth. He reportedly lost a foot in the attack.
Australia has recorded four fatal shark attacks so far this year, including two off the west coast.
GNA