Shocked beachgoers witness a surfer killed in a suspected great white shark attack

• Australian police have been searching for the body of a surfer whom a shark attacked.
• The surfer, 55, was attacked off the coast of Eyre Peninsula, west of Adelaide, South Australia.
• One witness said he saw a 13-foot great white shark as he rushed to the scene on his jet ski.

A 55-year-old surfer is missing, feared dead, after shocked beachgoers witnessed a suspected great white shark attack, this week.

Police searched for the body of a surfer who went missing after a shark attacked him, South Australia Police said in a statement.

Tod Gendle, 55, was surfing with friends when a witness said a 13-foot great white shark attacked him.

Police said the incident occurred around 10.20 a.m. on Tuesday near Granites Beach, south of Streaky Bay, an area known for its links to great white sharks.

"Eyre and Western Police immediately responded and initiated a search with the assistance of Police Water Operations, PolAir, State Emergency Service (SES) and local volunteers," the force said.

Officers have still found no trace of Gendle.

Several surfers were in the water at the time of the attack, witnesses told 7News.

The shark "grabbed him, pulled him back down, brought him back up, pulled him back down again," one said.

Fellow surfer Jeff Schmucker said he found only a surfboard with a large bite mark after he took his jet ski out to find Gendle.

Beachgoers, including children, watched the attack, reported 7News. "There's kids on the rocks, everywhere. They're beside themseleves, they're devastated," a witness told the news channel.

Search crews have since recovered part of his board and a piece of his wetsuit, news.com.au reported.

South Australia police said the area was known for shark activity, adding that "anyone who will be surfing or taking to the water needs to be aware of the risks," per 7News.

"It's generally well known that this is an area frequented by big sharks. We've had a number of attacks over the years," the force said.

Great whites can grow to 21 feet long and weigh 4,500 pounds

Australia has one of the highest rates of shark attacks around the world, with 143 bites occurring off of its shores between 2012 and 2021, according to the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File (ISAF), which describes itself as "the world's only scientifically documented, comprehensive database of all known shark attacks."

Simon Nellist, a 35-year-old scuba diving instructor, was killed by a great white shark in what the ISAF classified as a "provoked incident" off the coast of Sydney earlier this year.

The great white shark is the largest predatory fish in the world, and it can grow to 21 feet long and weigh 4,500 pounds, according to National Geographic.

Younger great whites can usually be found in coastal areas and estuaries, while adults usually live farther out at sea.

But mature adults have been known to hunt shorelines if there are food sources such as seals, per National Geographic.