News Digest

'Surfer' dies after shark attack off Australia's popular Byron Bay

A man has died after being attacked by a shark off Byron Bay, in Australia, according to reports. Police confirmed in a statement that the victim, who was in his 40s, was “bitten on the right leg by what is believed to be a shark”. Police have yet to identify the man or establish what he had been doing in the water, but local media reported he was believed to have been surfing alone. Byron Bay—popular with backpackers—is a renowned surfing location near Cape Byron, the most easterly point of the Australian mainland 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Sydney.

He was seen floating in shallow water, close to the shore line, and dragged on to the beach.

Police statement

The death is the first blamed on a shark in Australia since April 3, when a 63-year-old woman was killed near the village of Tathra, 340 kilmetres (210 miles) south of Sydney. Although sharks are common off Australia’s coast, the country has averaged fewer than two fatal attacks per year in recent decades. But fatal attacks are becoming more common. Two men were killed in shark attacks off the east and west coasts in the space of a week in November last year. They were the only fatalities in 2013.

Everyone had got to him and were trying to help him. They were giving him CPR and just trying to get him back.

Daniel Toole, 26, an eyewitness speaking to ABC News