A swimmer spent his final moments screaming for help and struggling to fight off a massive four-and-a-half metre long great white shark before being eaten alive as horrified witnesses watched on.
The man was taking an afternoon swim off Little Bay Beach when his life came to a tragic end in Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in 60 years.
Regarded by locals as one of the best kept secrets in Sydney’s east, the beach was packed with dozens of swimmers, paddle boarders and rock fishermen.
They were alerted of the danger by the swimmer’s ear-piercing screams but could do nothing but watch on in shock as the monster shark ripped the swimmer into two and ‘swallow parts of his body’.
Shocking footage showed the predator thrashing around in the ocean and dragging its victim underwater as the sea turned red with blood, sparking panic on shore.
The scenes were just as confronting for emergency service workers and lifeguards sent out in boats, rescue helicopters and on jet skis deployed in a frantic search of the swimmer and the killer predator.
‘Footage clearly shows a body, half a body being taken by a shark,’ a police officer told colleagues over a scanner when human remains were found an hour later.
Witnesses has recalled the horrifying moment the swimmer was mauled by a great white shark on Wednesday afternoon off Sydney’s Little Bay beach
The first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963 occurred at Buchan Point in Sydney’s east
The swimmer’s injuries were so catastrophic there was nothing paramedics could do to save him.
Back on shore, dozens of fishermen and beachgoers were still reeling in shock as the desperate hunt for the predator continued.
The tragedy unfolded at Buchan Point, a popular spot for rock fishing and spearfishing between Little Bay and Malabar beaches.
‘Someone just got eaten by a shark. Oh man! Oh no! That’s insane. That’s a great white shark,’ one fisherman can be heard yelling in footage.
‘The person’s still there!’
‘I just saw a four to five metre great white explode on the surface just here on a swimmer and it was like a car landing in the water.
‘F*** man, I heard a scream and the shark was just chomping on his body and the body was in half just off the rocks here.
‘It came back and swallowed parts of his body and that was it. It disappeared.’
Emergency services (pictured at the scene) launched a desperate search for the swimmer and found human remains an hour later
The search for the great white shark will continue on Thursday, prompting the closure of at least 11 beaches
The scenes were just as confronting for those involved in the frantic search for the swimmer, including jet skiers (pictured)
Other frantic onlookers on the rocks can be heard swearing and screaming in horror.
It’s understood the victim was a local who knew the beach well and often swam out towards the headland.
‘Some guy was swimming and a shark came and attacked him vertically,’ fisherman Kris Linto told Nine News.
‘We heard a yell and turned around it looked like a car had landed in the water, a big splash then the shark was chomping at the body and there was blood everywhere.
‘It was really bad.’
Another shaken witness recalled how the attack lasted just seconds.
‘He was yelling at first, and then when he went down there were so many splashes,’ he told the ABC.
‘The shark wouldn’t stop.
‘It’s very, very upsetting. He just went down for a swim, enjoying the day, but that shark took his life.’
Swimmers were ordered out of the water after the fatal shark attack at Little Bay Beach (scene pictured) on Wednesday afternoon, a popular spot for family swims
Four ambulance road crews and a rescue helicopter with a critical care doctor and a critical care paramedic on board attended the scene in the hope of saving his life.
‘Unfortunately this person had suffered catastrophic injuries and there wasn’t a lot paramedics could do when we arrived,’ NSW Ambulance Inspector Lucky Phrachanh said.
Police spent several hours at the scene interviewing shocked witnesses and later removed an SUV from the carpark at nearby Malabar Beach.
The search for the shark was later called off for the night, and is due to resume at first light on Thursday.
The tragedy has rocked the local community as Randwick Council closed all 11 beaches for at least 24 hours, including Little Bay.
Shocked witnesses (pictured speaking to police) heard the swimmer’s screams in the water
Kris Linto (pictured) was fishing at the time when he witnessed the horrifying shark attack
Popular swimming spots such as Malabar, Maroubra, Coogee, Clovelly and La Perouse will also be closed along with Congwong, Little Congwong and Yarra Bay beaches, Frenchmans Bay and Gordons Bay.
Many Sydneysiders had hoped to spend a day in the ocean with temperatures to reach a balmy 31C.
Signage and barricades have been installed warning swimmers to stay out of the water.
Little Bay Beach is regarded as one of Sydney’s undiscovered jewels and a ‘secret’ beach popular with locals.
‘The coast is our community’s backyard. Little Bay is normally such a calm, beautiful place enjoyed by families,’ Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said.
‘To lose someone to a shark attack like this is chilling. We are all in shock.
‘Our entire community’s hearts go out to the family of the victim.’
Many locals have vowed to avoid the water for a while in the wake of the tragedy.
The attack unfolded around 10m from shore at Buchan Point (pictured), a popular spot for rock fishermen
Police (pictured) spent several hours at the scene on Wednesday night examining the scene and interviewing witnesses
A local woman who regularly goes swimming around the area said the attack ‘made her think twice’.
‘So many locals go out swimming here, every day, and I’ve never seen a shark,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It’s terrifying’.
The latest tragedy comes after the death of a father and son rock fishing at the same site two weeks ago.
Peter and his son Mahan, 10, were fishing on a rock face at Little Bay on the last day of the school holidays on January 31 when they were dragged into the water by a freak wave.
‘My husband and my son were just a few steps in front of me and now they are gone forever,’ Peter’s heartbroken wife told the Daily Telegraph.
‘I wish it was me instead of my little boy.
‘I don’t have the will to live.’
Sydney’s last shark attack claimed the life of television and radio actress Marcia Hathaway (pictured) in 1963 in Middle Harbour
Jet skis were also used in the frantic search for swimmer before human remains were found
It’s the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963 when actress Marcia Hathaway, 32, was mauled by while on a boating trip in Sugarloaf Bay in Middle Harbour.
She was attacked by a bull shark in just 30 inches (76cm) of water as her fiancé and friends watched on in horror.
‘I heard Marcia scream “oh dear”, and then she was dragged into deep water,’ her fiance Frederick Knight said at the time.
‘I started to run to her and saw the fin of a shark.
‘It seemed to have grabbed her on the calf of her right leg.
‘When I reached Marcia, it struck again and seized her on the thigh.
‘I started to kick the shark and beat it with my fists, most of the struggle is a blank but I remember at one time the shark was between my legs and I seemed to be straddling it.’
The critically injured actress was stretchered in an ambulance, which then broke down while navigating the steep track from the harbour.
She had stopped breathing by the time a second ambulance arrived.
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney in almost 60 years (pictured, rescue helicopters at the scene)
Police (pictured at the scene on Wednesday) will liaise with the Department of Primary Industries to investigate the circumstances of the swimmer’s tragic death
The police helicopter scoured the area from the air for an hour in search of the swimmer
The fatal shark attack happened 10 metres away from rocks at Buchan Point, a popular spot for fishermen
Police will liaise with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the swimmer.
‘DPI extends sincere condolences to the family and friends and first responders at this tragic time’, a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘DPI will continue to work with NSW Police and SLS NSW to monitor the area and provide any technical advice and resources if required, including deploying SMART drumlines in the area.’
The department has also advised a bull shark was detected 15km further north near Bondi an hour after the attack. It has not been confirmed the shark is linked to the attack.
A SharkSmart app provided by the New South Wales government alerts swimmers and surfers in real time when a shark is detected nearby.
Paramedics say there was nothing they could do as the swimmer suffered catastrophic injuries
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk