In the South Pacific nation of New Caledonia, witnesses claim to have heard screaming as an Australian tourist perished in a terrifying shark attack off a busy beach.
On Sunday afternoon, a shark struck as the guy was swimming close to a pontoon about 150 meters off Chateau-Royal beach in the capital Noumea. The shark bit the victim several times.
As soon as they heard calls from those in the sea, the lifeguards urged everyone to leave the beach, according to ABC News.
When other swimmers who saw the occurrence fled the water, two persons in a nearby boat on the lake hurried the swimmer back to land.
On the beach, a number of bystanders assisted the victim, an Australian guy in his 59s.
The swimmer, who sustained at least three shark bites to his arms and legs, died at the scene in spite of the paramedic’s best attempts, according to local TV La 1ère.
The mayor of Noumea, Sonia Lagarde, ordered an emergency reaction that included shutting practically all of the local beaches and using drones to detect sharks in the sea.
Also, she has directed that any nearby bull sharks and tiger sharks be captured. Just before operations were halted at dusk, two were sighted.
Yves Dupas, the local prosecutor, said that an inquiry will be opened to determine the specifics of the incident, which took place in a lifeguard-watched area.
A 49-year-old swimmer was severely hurt by a shark in the same region last month, while a surfer was afterwards attacked by a shark but managed to escape unharmed.
According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, which has been collecting data on shark attacks across the globe since 1958, New Caledonia ranks 13th in the world for the overall number of assaults.
»Shark strikes and kills a swimmer on a popular beach«