Shark attack kills swimmer off Perth suburb beach
Police confirmed a man died after a shark attacked him while swimming near Sorrento Beach in Perth's northern suburbs, prompting the beach to be closed to swimmers.
Police said a man was killed by a shark while swimming off Sorrento Beach in Perth's northern suburbs on Friday. Search boats and helicopters combed the water after the late-morning incident but found no trace of the victim, although witnesses reported seeing blood in the water.
"My friend said, 'Jac, I think there’s been a shark attack,' and I looked out to the ocean and I could see a pool of blood," beach walker Jacqui Rapaic told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Local resident Ryan Rowe said an onlooker informed him that someone had been bitten by a shark, adding that the amount of blood was unexpected. Authorities have closed the beach to swimmers while the investigation continues. The victim has not been publicly identified. The incident follows a recent series of shark attacks in Australia, including a serious leg injury to a surfer near Geraldton and five fatal attacks nationwide this year. Data from the Australian Shark Incident Database show an average of two to three fatal shark attacks per year since 2000.