Great white shark escapes police hunt after killing surfer off northern NSW beach
A three-metre great white shark that killed a male surfer and threatened others at Kingscliff in northern NSW on Sunday morning has escaped police shooters.
Police said the Queensland man, aged between 50 and 60, was surfing off South Kingscliff Beach, north of the Salt Surf Life Saving Club.
Surf Life Saving NSW said the shark attacked the Gold Coast man and bit the back of his thigh after 10am. Nearby surfers rushed to the aid of the man. The shark reportedly followed, circled the three men and rammed one of their boards.
The man died from his wounds at 10.40am.
"[D]espite the best efforts of nearby surfers and bystanders who fought off the shark and got the man to the shore and rendered first aid, the man died on the beach," Surf Life Saving NSW said in a statement.
"NSW Department of Primary Industries shark biologists assessed aerial photographs taken of the shark and bite marks on the victim and concluded that the shark responsible for the attack was a large, three-metre white shark," it said.
A male surfer has died after being bitten by a shark near Kingscliff in northern NSW.Credit:Nine News
NSW Police said they were unable to kill the shark which disappeared from the area about 1pm.
"Under the Department of Primary Industry’s shark Incident response protocols, permission may be granted to destroy the shark, if it is considered an ongoing threat to human life," NSW Police said in a statement.
"Due to concerns that the shark had to be fought off by other board-riders, and that it remained in the vicinity for several hours after the attack, police were granted permission to destroy the shark.
"Police and local rescue helicopter crews monitored the area for some hours; however, the shark left the vicinity about 1.15 pm and has not been seen since. No police firearm was discharged."
A large shark was filmed swimming nearby following the incident. Credit:Nine News
Surf Life Saving closed the beach and police instructed surfers to get out of the water following the incident.
Police will liaise with the Department of Primary Industry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death.
James Owen, a Tweed Shire councillor and a member of the Salt Surf Life Saving Club near where the surfer died, said the death was "a terrible, tragic event".
Jet skies were also deployed to get people out of the water, although some surfers were still out further along the coast at Cabarita, Mr Owen said.
"It's a bit of a shock for everyone at the moment," he said. "There's a very sombre mood here.
"I don't know of a previous fatal shark incident in this area. "For whatever reason, this shark's decided to have a bite."
NSW Ambulance said they were called to Casuarina Beach at Kingscliff just after 10am. The first of three crews arrived to treat the man they described as in his fifties for "a critical leg injury".
“When you get a call to attend a shark attack, you never really know the full extent of the damage until you get on scene," Terence Savage, duty operations manager, said. "This is a dreadful situation for everyone involved.”
Boats followed the shark following the bite incident, which left a surfer dead.Credit:Nine News
Conditions on Sunday were overcast in the area and there was talk about bait fish in the area, Mr Owen said.
White sharks are active off that part of the coast near the border between NSW and Queensland at this time of year, one source told the Herald.
The number of deaths from sharks nationally averages about one per year. In NSW, there had been 66 fatalities from 204 shark bites over the past 150 years prior to Sunday's death.