“He was scallop diving with his adult daughter”.
Advertisement
The man was attacked at Lachland Point off Maria Island, about eight meters off the coast of Tasmania.
“His daughter became anxious and went down and checked on her father”, Wiss said.
The woman witnessed the attack after diving beneath the surface amid concerns her father, in his 40s, had not surfaced, police said.
He explained: “Boaters attended the area and they pulled up a male using the air hose he was attached to but unfortunately he was fatally injured”.
“Absolute tragedy for the family”.
The attack happened near where a 15ft great white shark was seen on Friday, government ranger Peter Lingard told The Examiner newspaper.
Mr Hammond said there were a number of other divers in the water this morning.
“(The diver was) in the shallow water there, it just struck out of the blue, and bang”.
Glamorgan Spring Bay mayor Michael Kent said the incident was “absolutely devastating”.
The news came the same day as champion surfer Mick Fanning, who survived a dramatic shark attack in South Africa earlier this week, returned to the water for the first time.
The last fatal attack off the Australian coast occurred in February. The scallop season has been very good to professional and recreational fisherman and then we’ve got a disaster like like this.
Advertisement
Sharks are common off Australia’s beaches, but fatal attacks are rare.
