ADELAIDE, Australia (24 Aug 2005) -- A diver is presumed dead after a shark attack witnessed by two friends off Adelaide's most popular beach. The diver was in the water about 2km off Glenelg Beach, in the city's west, when a shark took him at about 4.10pm (CST) on Wednesday, police said. He and another man were scuba diving when their two friends aboard a boat saw the shark, but they were powerless to stop the attack. A search was underway on Wednesday night for the shark and the missing man, but he was presumed dead. "Two people in the boat did witness the attack," Acting Superintendent Jim Jeffery said. "We are making every attempt we can to locate the person. "The indications to us though are that it will be very doubtful that we will find the person alive." Media reports said the man's oxygen cylinder has been found. Glenelg Beach is just one kilometre from West Beach, where another fatal shark attack occurred last December. In that incident, 18-year-old Nick Peterson was killed while surfboarding with friends behind a boat. The waters off South Australia are a favourite hunting ground of the feared great white shark, which has been blamed for several fatal attacks in recent years, including that on Mr Peterson. Police said the two people on board the boat, who saw the large shark approach, raised the alarm and pulled one of the divers out of the water. But the shark took the other diver while he was still underwater. "... it was the one that was still underwater, he was taken," Supt Jeffery said. "One of the divers had been pulled back on to the boat as the other one was taken." | | Great white shark killed scuba diver off Adelaide. Police have recovered some of the missing diver's equipment, including the oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest. Supt Jeffery said police were unsure what type of shark was involved in the attack, saying the traumatised witnesses had only described it as "large". Local shark expert Andrew Fox said it was likely the shark was a great white - the same type of shark blamed for the fatal attack on Mr Peterson just over eight months ago. "As far as determining the species of shark it's very likely that, other than a bronze whaler shark, the great white shark is really the only large predatory shark that's capable of actually taking a diver," he told ABC radio. Mr Fox said he doubted the shark involved in Wednesday's attack was the same one that took Mr Peterson. "There's always speculation after any shark attack around the world of a rogue shark, or a shark gone bad, a shark that likes the taste of humans," he said. "But there's actually, in the International Shark Record, there's never been any evidence that this has ever occurred." A search involving water police and the SA Sea Rescue Squadron was called off on Wednesday night and will resume on Thursday. Police have ordered other recreational boat users out of the water in the vicinity of the attack - a coastal area about 10km from Adelaide's central business district. |
