Authorities in Australia are hunting two great white sharks after a surfer was killed when he was attacked by two of the creatures.
The fatal attack took place in Gracetown, Western Australia, when two sharks reportedly “ganged up” on 29-year-old Brad Smith, who was surfing off the beach.
According to The Independent newspaper, Smith was extensively injured to his pelvis and abdomen, while his surfboard was completely bitten in half by the sharks.
Witnesses reportedly said that the two sharks were about 17 feet long; The Independent reports that the beach was closed yesterday as armed men in boats and helicopters searched for the beasts.
The Daily Mail quotes fisheries officer Tony Cappelluti as saying: “If we find them, we have the authority to kill them. If they have tasted blood they will remain a problem until we have tracked them down.”
The last fatal attack in Australia was in Queensland last February; the last one in Western Australia was at Cottesloe Beach, Perth, in 2000.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
