OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:35 PM – Wednesday, November 1, 2023
South Australian authorities are searching for the body of a missing surfer who is suspected to have been killed by a great white shark.
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On Tuesday, South Australian police released a statement announcing the search for a 55-year-old man who went missing while surfing at around 10:20 a.m. near Granites Beach. A witness had reported seeing a shark attack the man.
According to numerous witnesses, the man was out with roughly 12 other surfers when the shark attacked him.
“(The shark) grabbed him, pulled him back down, brought him back up, pulled him back down again,” the witness told the press.
Authorities and local volunteers have been searching the area by air and water, but the man’s body has yet to be recovered, despite the fact that the search resumed on Wednesday morning.
While authorities have not released any information on the species of shark that was believed to have attacked the surfer, Jeff Schmucker, one surfer who witnessed the attack, told the press that he saw a 13-foot great white shark.
He also stated that he swam over to help the injured surfer but only ended up finding the surfboard with a large bite mark.
Another witness, Ian Brophy, described the moment he saw the predator and how it went “over the top of the guy to bite and drag him down under the water and then nothing for a minute or two and blood everywhere and then up pops the board”.
“I saw him in the waves and the shark had his body in his mouth — it was pretty gruesome,” he continued. “Within a few minutes, there was no sign of the surfer’s body. It took every bit of him, I think.”
Police Superintendent Paul Bahr told reporters that, “anyone who is going to be surfing or taking to the water in this area really does need to be aware of the risks.”
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