Man dies after shark attack while swimming off Perth beach
A swimmer in his 60s was killed by a shark off Sorrento Beach near Perth, prompting authorities to close the beach and launch a search operation.
A man in his 60s died after a shark attacked him while he was swimming off Sorrento Beach in the northern suburbs of Perth on Friday, police said. Boats and helicopters were deployed to search the water, and officials confirmed the victim’s death resulted from the attack. The beach was subsequently closed to swimmers.
Witnesses described seeing a pool of blood in the water and reported that the victim was swimming with a friend. One onlooker told Nine Network, "I feel for his mate. He's apologized and said 'I didn't save my mate,'" and added, "You couldn't have done anything." Another regular beach swimmer said, "How do you just watch someone be attacked in front of you?".
Local resident Ryan Rowe said he arrived at the beach shortly after the incident and was informed by another onlooker that a shark had bitten someone. He noted the amount of blood that appeared in the water.
The incident follows a recent shark bite that left a surfer with a serious leg injury near Geraldton, about 400 km north of Perth. It is part of a series of fatal shark attacks in Australia this year, which includes the death of a 12-year-old boy in Sydney Harbour in January and several other fatal incidents involving divers and a schoolteacher.
Australian authorities have recorded at least five fatal shark attacks in 2026, compared with an average of two to three per year since 2000, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.