A 60-year-old woman has died of injuries consistent with a shark attack sustained off the coast of Western Australia.
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Another boat got between the uninjured diver and the shark, and the man was able to get back into his boat and pull the woman from the water.
The Daily Mail reports, three men who came to the pair’s aid reported seeing a shark which was longer than their 18-foot long fishing boat.
Gerring died on Friday night at Royal Perth hospital with his pregnant fiancee at his side.
Last Tuesday, a 29-year-old had his leg bitten off while surfing at a beach south of Perth.
Collyer’s diving buddy John said about 25 minutes into the dive, he felt something brush past him and when he surfaced, he saw his friend had been badly attacked.
“Given the nature of the injuries and the location of the incident, it is likely that a large white shark greater than three meters in size is responsible”, said the department officials in a statement.
Mr Marshall said Mr and Mrs Collyer moved to Australia so they could see granddaughter Daisy grow up.
Authorities are hunting for the shark and have set baited trips in the area around Mindarie beach.
On Thursday, a 4.2m (14ft) great white shark was captured near Mandurah, but it is not known if this shark was to blame for the attack on the surfer.
It is the second fatal shark attack in Western Australia in the space of six days.
Mr Collyer was driving out to meet his wife on Sunday at Mindarie beach, north of Perth, and learnt of her death when he arrived. While they don’t know whether or not the shark that was killed is the same one that took Ben’s leg, the locals sure do seem happy about having at least one shark answer for the incident.
The catch-and-kill policy was abandoned after objections from the state’s environmental agency and conservationists.
Deadly attacks are relatively rare, according to the International Shark Attack File, which in February reported only six fatalities worldwide past year, including one in Australia.
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It explains the spate of shark attacks in the country the past few days with two female victims within less than one week.
