Police say Australian emergency services continue to search for a surfer who went missing underwater after possibly being attacked by a shark.
Just after 7pm local time on Thursday, a 28-year-old man from the Eyre Peninsula city of Port Lincoln was surfing near Granites Beach, south of Streaky Bay, when he heard a shark attack him. South Australian Police said a witness reported seeing the scene. in a news release early Friday morning.
Officers responded and began a search with state officials and local volunteers, the department said.
As of early Friday morning, police had not released the surfer’s name, the man’s body had not yet been found, and authorities were still searching by air, land and water.
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“There was no sign of this young man at all.”
Senior Constable Rebecca Stokes told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the surfboard had been recovered.
“I heard that immediately after the attack, someone left on a jet ski. They were very brave and were able to retrieve the surfboard,” she told local media. “But there was no sign of this young man. There was just no sign of him.”
It was not immediately clear what type of shark attacked the surfer, but the paper said fishermen spotted at least one “large great white” in the area before the attack was reported.
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The beach remained cordoned off Friday and authorities asked any witnesses to contact police.
The surfer is presumed dead and police are preparing a report for the coroner on Friday, officials said.
Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
