Friends witness ‘horrific event’ as man dies after shark attack off Rottnest Island

Friends have watched helplessly as a man was mauled by a four-metre white shark whilst spearfishing off Rottnest Island near Perth, Western Australia.

The 38-year-old was pulled from the water and raced back to shore but could not be saved.

“His friends have actually witnessed the horrific event,” Sergeant Michael Wear said.

The 38-year-old was pulled from the water and raced back to shore but could not be saved. (Nine)

The group was at Horseshoe Reef, about 1 kilometre offshore, when things took a tragic turn about 10am today (12pm AEST).

“The victim was on the surface at the time, about 20 metres away from the vessel,” Wear said.

He had been bitten on the lower part of both legs, police said.

The man’s friends lifted him onto their boat and gave him CPR as they raced him to shore.

He was rushed to a jetty at Geordie Bay, where emergency services worked on him for about half an hour, but he could not be saved.

“Certainly quite horrific scenes for all involved and all emergency services that were there did a fantastic job,” Wear said.

A rescue helicopter on standby at Geordie Bay. (9News)

Surf Life Saving WA said on social media that a five-metre white shark had been seen about 80 metres offshore this morning.

Residents and tourists were left shocked by the news of the man’s death.

Witness Jarrad Young told 9News onlookers hoped the man would be OK.

Boyd Fraser said the man’s death was a “terrible tragedy”.

“I’ve been surfing for over 50 years and I’ve seen a lot of sharks and I couldn’t think of anything worse, so I just walked here to pay my respects to him and his family,” Fraser said.

Shark patrols have been taking place and people are being told to avoid the area.

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St John WA ambulance paramedics and police were called at about 10am. (9News)

Rottnest Island is a popular tourist destination off the Perth coast and can be reached by ferry.

The area is a protected nature reserve known for its quokka population, white sand beaches and secluded coves.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has been notified of the incident.

Earlier today a spokesperson for DPIRD said the department was working with local authorities.

A police boat was also sent to the scene. (9News)

String of shark attacks across Australia

There have been several shark attacks reported in Australia this year.

Andre de Ruyter, 27, was one of several victims attacked by sharks over the course of 48 hours in NSW in January.

He lost a leg in the attack on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

Nico Antic was first to be attacked by a suspected bull shark after jumping off rocks at Neilson Park, near Shark Beach, in Vaucluse on January 18.

The 12-year-old junior lifesaver later died in hospital.

Also, 39-year-old Paul Zvirzdinas received minor injuries after his board and wetsuit were bitten by a shark at Point Plomer near Port Macquarie.

An 11-year-old boy had a lucky escape at Dee Why Beach after a shark bit his board but otherwise left him unscathed.

The attacks were attributed to previous wild weather considered a “once-in-a-500-year event”, which created the perfect environment for bull sharks to lurk in coastal waters around Sydney and wider NSW.

Last month 16-year-old surfer Oliver Tokic-Bensley had a close call with a shark in South Australia.

Emergency services gathered on the boat ramp this morning. (9News)

He told 9News he was surfing by himself in murky water off the tourist town of Middleton when the shark “grabbed” his foot and knocked him off his board.

He was about 100 metres offshore and frantically paddled back to land.

Back in March, a man was bitten by a shark while snorkelling around the Great Barrier Reef.

He and two other men were swimming from a private vessel on the western side of Lady Elliot Island in Queensland when the attack took place about 8am.

He was bitten on the elbow and helped to shore by the other two men.

Australia heads world table for shark attacks

Australia recorded the world’s highest total of fatal shark attacks on humans last year, with more great whites gathering in waters popular with surfers, research released earlier this year found.

The International Shark Attack File released in February confirmed there were 12 fatalities (nine of which were classified unprovoked) worldwide, with Australia accounting for five.

Other countries to record deaths last year included the United States, Mozambique, South Africa and Vanuatu.

The global total of 12 fatalities was up from the previous year’s seven.

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Australia recorded the world’s highest total of fatal shark attacks on humans last year. (Getty)

There were 65 confirmed unprovoked attacks globally, a jump from the 47 in 2024 and above the five-year average of 61.

Last year US waters had the most incidents at 25, with 11 off the coast of Florida.

Australia was in second spot recording 21 unprovoked attacks.

Researchers from the University of Florida who drew up the report noted an increase in fatalities from great whites.

Bigger numbers of the species at “aggregation sites”, beaches favoured by surfers, especially in Australia, may be behind this, they suggested.

The Australian coastline is also home to the bull and tiger sharks, which along with great whites make up the “big three” predators.