A search is underway for a surfer feared killed in a shark attack off the Australian coast

Wellington, New Zealand — Surfer missing in Australia is believed to have died in shark attackauthorities said Friday as they searched the waters where the man went missing. The 28-year-old was in the sea at a popular surfing beach in South Australia where another man was killed by a great white shark in 2023.

A witness who saw the shark attack on Thursday night at Granites Beach, near the coastal town of Streaky Bay, went into the sea on a jet ski and retrieved the man’s surfboard, Senior Constable Rebecca Stokes told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“But there was just no sign of this young man, there was just no sign of him,” Stokes told the ABC. “From the witness’s description, we’re pretty confident that unfortunately it was this shark that killed him.”

The beach is known to be frequented by sharks, Stokes said. She did not say what type of shark it is believed to be.

Emergency workers and volunteers were searching for a local man in the open sea on Friday, and the beach was closed to the public. The police was preparing the coroner’s report, the press release said.

Shark attacks in Australia are rare, with 255 fatal bites recorded since 1791 in the country of 27 million people, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database.

But the state of South Australia has registered more episodes in the past two years than usual. There have been five shark attacks near the state’s coast in 2023, three of which were fatal and one on the same beach as Thursday’s incident.

Scientists said at the time that they did not know the reason for the cluster. There was one non-fatal shark bite off the coast of South Australia in 2024.

Another Australian surfer made a remarkable return to the waves late last year after suffering a serious shark attack during the summer off the coast of neighboring New South Wales. Kai McKenzie lost his right leg to a 15-meter great white shark on July 23, but vowed not only to surf again, but to return to the same spot where he was attacked.

In mid-October, less than three months after losing his leg, he fulfilled his promise, which he himself documented Instagram feed.

Researchers published a study in November that found bright lights on surfboards could actually help prevent shark attacks, presumably by making the boards and their riders appear less seal-like to predators.