A shark hunt is underway off Australia’s east coast after a father was killed in a “freak” attack at a Sydney seashore.
Mercury Psillakis was mauled by what police mentioned was a large shark at Long Reef Beach on Saturday.
The 57-year-old was attacked whereas browsing about 100 meters offshore, in town’s second deadly shark incident since 1963.
Now, drone operators are scanning the water for any signal of additional shark exercise on the seashore, which stays closed, in response to NCS affiliate 9News.
Emergency companies rushed to the seashore shortly after 10 a.m., following reviews of a person struggling essential accidents.
He was dropped at shore and pronounced lifeless on the scene, authorities mentioned.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene because the shark’s fin surfaced.
“There was a guy screaming ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me,’ and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up and it was huge,” Mark Morgenthal instructed NCS affiliate Sky News Australia.
“Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four meters, so it actually looked like a six-meter shark.”
Psillakis disappeared underneath the water along with his surfboard and misplaced a number of limbs in the attack, New South Wales (NSW) Police Inspector Stuart Thomson instructed reporters at a press convention on Saturday.
“His (friends) managed to make it back to the beach safely and a short time later his body was found floating in the surf and a couple of other people went out and recovered it,” Thomson mentioned. “Attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.”
Psillakis, an skilled surfer who leaves behind a spouse and younger daughter, was well-known in the Northern Beaches group for promoting uncommon unique vegetation, often showcasing his finds on native Facebook teams.
Police and shark biologists are analyzing Psillakis’s physique and fragments of his surfboard, in addition to talking with witnesses, to find out the shark species, 9News added.
Drone operators are scanning the water for potential shark exercise.
Locals are urged to keep away from seashores in the world as lifeguards maintain individuals from coming into the water.
Northern Beaches Police Area Commander John Duncan instructed native media the attack was a “freak incident that happens very, very rarely.”
Shark assaults in Sydney are exceptionally uncommon, with just one different fatality in the previous 60 years.
Diving teacher Simon Nellist was killed by an awesome white whereas swimming off Little Bay Beach in 2022.
Before that, the final deadly incident was in 1963, when actress Marcia Hathaway was fatally mauled by a bull shark in Middle Harbour’s shallow waters.
Shark nets had been put in throughout 51 seashores in NSW, for the season beginning September 1, throughout 51 seashores stretching round 140 miles from Newcastle to Wollongong, 9News reviews.
This routine measure is applied annually, all through the state’s spring and summer time interval, with sharks being extra frequent in hotter months.
According to the Department of Primary Industries, sharks are current year-round however could also be extra frequent relying on climate, ocean situations, and meals sources.