The unnamed man was out for a swim at a surfing spot on Port Beach in North Fremantle, Australia when he was attacked as horrified witnesses saw him “waving his arms around”
A popular beach in Australia has been shut down by authorities after a visitor was bitten on the foot by what’s believed to be a 1.5-metre tiger shark whilst swimming in the ocean.
The Department of Primary Industries said the man was out for a swim at the Sandtrax surf spot on Port Beach in North Fremantle – roughly 15 kilometres southwest of the central business district. He was attacked at about 2.30pm local time on Wednesday, March 26, and witnesses travelling past the scene in a boat said they heard the man calling out help and assisted him back to the shore. “We just seen the bloke standing there waving his arms around,” witness Elliot Kane said.
“We’ve punched it over, got him on the back, on the back of the boat. And yeah, he was just a bit startled, and not really a good thing to see down here at the beach. But what can you do about it?” he added.
The group said they alerted the incident to authorities, with the report of a bite by a 1.5-metre tiger shark coming in around an hour after the attack. Swimmers were urged to take additional caution in the area surrounding Port Beach and “beach closed” signs were put up in the area. It is not yet known if the swimmer has made any progress in hospital.
It comes just weeks after a “gentle giant” surfer travlling around Australia died after being killed in a horror beach shark attack whilst surfing. Steven Payne, 37, originally from New Zealand, had been on a six-month caravan trip around Australia with his girlfriend when they decided to make a stop at Wharton Beach, near Esperance in Western Australia, on Monday. But as Mr Payne was surfing, a shark attacked him in front of horrified bystanders.
Witnesses claimed to have heard screams and reported seeing nothing but a surfboard floating about 30m out from the shoreline. Mr Payne is suspected to have been killed in the incident but efforts to retrieve his body were called off. Beachgoer Joscelin Boissieux told local media: “There were screams. There were people saying like ‘get out’, everything – it was a very panicked moment.”
His family has since released a statement adding they are “devastated” and that he was “one of the best.” The statement added: “A gentle giant at 6ft4, he was smart, kind, funny, laid back and very practical. While he wasn’t a man of many words, he loved his partner deeply, cherished his family, thought the world of his best mates, and was devoted to his dog.”