Shark attack kills man in Sydney's first such death in almost 60 years
Australian police said they had recovered human remains in the water after a horrific shark attack Wednesday at a Sydney beach.
It was the city's first fatal attack since 1963.
A man fishing off nearby rocks told national broadcaster ABC he saw a man in a wetsuit being dragged underwater by a large shark off the eastern suburbs beach of Little Bay.
"When he went down there were so many splashes," the man said.
"It was terrible. I am shaking," he said, describing an attack that lasted several seconds.
"I keep vomiting. It's very, very upsetting," the man told ABC. "He just went down for a swim, enjoying the day, but that shark took his life."
He told ABC the shark was about 15 feet long, according to the Reuters news service.
Reuters reported that another witness, Kris Linto, told broadcaster Nine, "Some guy was swimming and a shark came and attacked him vertically. We heard a yell and turned around it looked like a car had landed in the water, a big splash then the shark was chomping at the body and there was blood everywhere."
New South Wales police said officers investigating the reported attack had found human remains in the water.
"An investigation into the swimmer's death is ongoing, and Little Bay Beach is closed as officers continue to search the area," they said in a statement.
Police said they would work with the state's Department of Primary Industries to investigate the circumstances of the swimmer's death.
A report would be prepared for the state coroner.
There were three fatal shark attacks across Australia last year, including two in New South Wales, according to a database compiled by the Taronga Conservation Society.
No fatalities had been recorded so far in 2022.
Police urged beachgoers to follow safety guidance from Surf Life Saving NSW.
The organization advises people to swim only in patrolled areas on the beach, avoid swimming at dawn, dusk and night, steer clear of schools of baitfish and keep away from river mouths or murky water.
A SharkSmart app provided by the New South Wales government alerts swimmers and surfers in real time when a shark is detected nearby.
New South Wales relies on a string of listening stations, drumlines, shark nets and shark-spotting drones to protect people in the water.