Australia police search for shark attack victim

Police in South Australia were early Wednesday searching for the body of a surfer thought to have been killed in a “gruesome” shark attack.

The 55-year-old man disappeared near the popular surfing spot of Granites Beach in the state of South Australia on Tuesday morning, police said.

“The man’s body is yet to be found and the search resumed early this morning.”

Witness Ian Brophy said he had seen a shark “just launch and bite”, dragging the man under the water, with “blood everywhere”.

“I saw him in the wave and the shark had his body in his mouth — it was pretty gruesome,” he told local newspaper The Advertiser.

Brophy said that, within a few minutes, all that remained was the victim’s surfboard.

“(The shark) took every bit of him, I think.”

Jeff Schmucker had been among those who headed out into the water to help emergency services search for the surfer.

He told national broadcaster ABC that the shark was “the length of a sedan car” but he could not be sure if it was responsible for the attack.

Great white sharks are known to prowl South Australia’s coastline, with a teacher mauled to death in May some 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the site of Tuesday’s attack. (BSS/AFP)