Wellington, New Zealand — A surfer reported missing in Australia is believed to have died in a shark attackauthorities said Friday, as they searched the waters where the man had disappeared. The 28-year-old was in the sea at a popular surfing beach in South Australia where another man was killed by a white shark in 2023.
A witness who saw the shark attack on Thursday evening at Granites Beach, near the coastal town of Streaky Bay, jumped into the sea on a jet ski and retrieved the man’s surfboard, said Constable Rebecca Stokes to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“But there was just no sign of this young man, there was just no sign of him,” Stokes told ABC. “Based on the witness descriptions, we are pretty sure that he was unfortunately killed by this shark.”
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The beach was known to be frequented by sharks, Stokes said. She did not specify what species of shark would be involved.
Rescuers and volunteers were searching offshore for the local man on Friday and the beach was closed to the public. Police were preparing a coroner’s report, according to a statement.
Shark attacks in Australia are rare, with 255 fatal bites recorded since 1791 in the country of 27 million people, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.
But the state of South Australia has recorded more episodes than usual over the past two years. There have been five shark attacks off the state’s coast in 2023, three of them fatal and one on the same beach as Thursday’s incident.
Scientists at the time said they did not know the reason for this cluster. There was one non-fatal shark bite off the coast of South Australia in 2024.
Another Australian surfer made a remarkable return to the waves late last year after suffering a serious shark attack over the summer off the coast of neighboring New South Wales state. Kai McKenzie lost his right leg to a 15-foot white shark on July 23, but he vowed not only to surf again, but to return to the same place where he was attacked.
In mid-October, less than three months after losing his leg, he kept his promise, as he himself documented. Instagram feed.
Researchers published a study in November that found bright lights on surfboards could actually help prevent shark attacks, probably by making the boards and their riders look less like seals to predators.