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The search for a man who was attacked by a shark at a surf break near Esperance on Western Australia's south coast yesterday morning has resumed.
Key points:
- Other surfers witnessed the attack at Wylie Bay on Friday morning
- The witness accounts suggest the man is unlikely to have survived, police say
- Police divers from Perth are expected to join the search
The local man was attacked while surfing at Wylie Bay's popular Kelp Beds break around 11:00am on Friday.
Up to eight surfers were in the water at the time and witnessed the attack, along with bystanders on the beach.
No sign of the man's body has been found, but his surfboard was discovered washed up with signs of shark damage.
On Friday, police said the man's chances of survival were slim.
Police divers from Perth have joined the search, assisted by Surf Life Saving WA.
A range of other local and state government authorities are assisting, including the Southern Ports Authority, Department of Parks and Wildlife and the Esperance Shire.
Wylie Bay beach remains closed.
Community reeling after another attack
In the past decade, there have been fatal shark attacks in the area, and around the Esperance coast more broadly.
In 2014, 23-year-old surfer Sean Pollard was attacked by a shark at the beach, losing his arm and other hand.
Three years later, 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer died after being bitten by a white shark in the same area.
Diver Gary Johnson was killed at Cull Island, off the Esperance coast, in January this year.
Police said the man who was attacked yesterday was a "prominent" local.
'Our hearts go out to them'
Despite no official confirmation the surfer had died, local vet and Esperance Ocean Safety Group committee member David Swan offered his condolences to the man's family.
"The community's very sad and rallying around the family," Dr Swan said.
"A big shout out to all the first responders who are out there trying to help and just sincere apologies and condolences to the family."
Dr Swan said he wanted the West Australian Premier Mark McGowan to visit the town.
"I strongly invite Premier Mark McGowan to come down and have a meeting with us," he said.
"We want the local fisheries to be authorised to do immediate lethal drumlining in the event of an attack.
"We've [also] got an imminent threat policy, so if a shark is hanging around the populated beaches in the bay here or West Beach or Kelp Beds, that smart drumlining can occur."