The Daily Populous Sunday September 7th, 2025 night edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by Efficient-Ruin-4713

A surfer at a popular Sydney beach was mauled to death by a suspected "large shark" on Saturday, Australian police said, in a rare fatal attack.

The 57-year-old man was surfing with friends in the Pacific waters off northern Sydney's adjoining Long Reef and Dee Why beaches when the attack happened, authorities said.

The man – an experienced surfer with a wife and a young daughter – lost "a number of limbs", New South Wales police superintendent John Ducan told reporters.

"I do understand that both him and his board disappeared underwater," he said. "The body was found floating in the surf."

Surfers exit the water after authorities closed Long Reef Beach in Sydney following a shark attack on September 6, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

A couple of surfers saw him in the water and got him to shore, Duncan said.

"Unfortunately, by that time, we understand he lost probably a lot of blood and attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful," he said.

Visitors walk along the shoreline as northern Sydney beaches remain closed following a suspected shark attack at Long Reef Beach on September 6, 2025. SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images

People nearby saw the ocean predator, according to police, who earlier said they believed a "large shark" attacked the man.

Government experts will examine the remains of the surfboard and the man's body to help them determine the species of shark involved, police said.

There are about 100 shark species in Western Australia, according to SharkSmart, a website run by Australian officials that warns about shark activity and gives tips on how to stay safe. Most of the species are capable of injuring humans, but an "overwhelming majority of them are not aggressive under most circumstances." Most serious shark bites in ocean-loving Australia are from great whites, bull sharks, and tiger sharks.

After the incident, nearby beaches were closed for at least 24 hours. Drones and surf lifesavers on water skis were patrolling the beaches for shark activity.

Fatal shark attacks are rare. In 2024, there were only seven fatal attacks, including four unprovoked attacks, around the world, according to research by the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida.

Overall, shark attacks decreased dramatically in 2024 and were far below the annual average.

This was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 2022, when a 35-year-old British diving instructor was killed off Little Bay. The previous fatal attack in the city was in 1963. Australia's last deadly shark attack was in March, when a surfer was taken off the remote Wharton Beach of Western Australia.

Another surfer was presumed dead after a shark attack in South Australia in early January. A witness who saw the attack rode into the sea and retrieved the man's surfboard, but officials said there was "no sign" of the surfer afterwards.

There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which over 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators' encounters with humans.

Farpafraf on September 6th, 2025 at 18:19 UTC »

> A couple of surfers saw him in the water and got him to shore, Duncan said.

Very brave people. They put their life on the line in one of the scariest circumstances imaginable.

Crowsnest_Bomber on September 6th, 2025 at 14:31 UTC »

I surf one beach down and today was hearbeaking.

Really lovable guy apparently and was just incredibly unlucky. It was a lovely sunny day today and likely hundreds if not thousands would have been in the water across Sydney. Its not a particularly dangerous spot and the big white sharks are very rarely seen so close to shore especially around these metro beaches.

Sharks come close to surfers/swimmers regularly, but its usually the juveniles or the less dangerous species. The previous shark attack in Sydney a couple years ago was in deeper water and before that, it was in the 70s. So its incredibly rare around these beaches.

The local paper had pictures of his twin slumped over on the shoreline bawling his eyes out. Was devastating to see and really poor form by the paper to publish it.

unbreaKwOw on September 6th, 2025 at 13:59 UTC »

Eye witness in the water at the time said it was the biggest great white he had ever seen, comfortably. 4 metres between dorsal fin and tail. Estimated over 5 metres total length. It was also reported that the surfer lost "several" limbs. Horrible way to go.