A surfer who went lacking off the coast of South Australia is believed to have died in a shark assault, authorities have mentioned.
Lance Appleby, 28, was within the sea at standard browsing website Granites seashore, close to the coastal city of Streaky Bay, on Thursday night when witnesses reported seeing him being attacked.
One witness went into the ocean on a jet ski to retrieve the surfboard Mr Appleby was utilizing on the time, however there was no signal of him, senior constable Rebecca Stokes advised the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).
“There was just no sign of this young man, there’s just been no sign of him,” she advised ABC. “From witnesses’ descriptions, we’re pretty confident that sadly he’s been killed by this shark.”
South Australia Police mentioned an air, land and water search would proceed on 3 January to try to find Mr Appleby’s physique.
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Granites seashore in South Australia is a well-liked spot for surfers. Pic: iStock
Assistant police commissioner John De Candia advised reporters the assault was “absolutely tragic” and has had a large influence on “lots of people”.
One other man was killed by a white shark on the identical seashore in 2023. Ms Stokes mentioned the realm is understood to be frequented by sharks, and the seashore stays closed to the general public.
“There’s more people in the ocean in summer, so it is more likely that there are unfortunate bites that occur during the summer months,” Ms Le Busque mentioned.
The state of South Australia has registered extra shark assaults previously two years than ordinary.
There have been 5 assaults off the state’s coast in 2023, three of them deadly and one on the identical seashore as Thursday’s incident. In 2024 there was one non-fatal shark chunk off South Australia’s coast.
