Body of surfer missing after suspected fatal shark attack off coast of South Australia

Police in South Australia are searching for the body of a surfer who is believed to have been killed in a fatal shark attack on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old man was surfing around 10:20 a.m. near Granites Beach, south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula, when witnesses reported seeing a shark attack the man, South Australia Police said in a statement.

Witnesses said the man was out with about 12 other surfers when the shark clenched him in its jaws.

"(The shark) grabbed him, pulled him back down, brought him back up, pulled him back down again," the witness told 7News in Australia.

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Authorities and local volunteers have been combing the area by air and water, though the man’s body has yet to be found after the search resumed Wednesday morning.

While authorities have yet to provide any details on the type of shark believed to have attacked the surfer, Jeff Schmucker, a veteran surfer who witnessed the incident, told the news outlet that he believed he saw a 13-foot great white shark.

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Schmucker said he had rushed out to help the surfer but only found a surfboard that had a large bite mark.

Sharks are known to frequent the waters along South Australia’s coast.

"Anyone who is going to be surfing or taking to the water in this area really does need to be aware of the risks and I think, in the main, most people are," police Superintendent Paul Bahr told the Australian Broadcasting Company.