A surfer who was attacked by a shark off the coast of Australia is presumed to be dead.
The attack happened near Wharton Beach in Esperance, a town in southwestern Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported. The surfer's body has not been recovered, but drone footage captured the horrifying aftermath of the attack.
"There was a lot of blood, the shark, and some other things that I don't think any others need to see," Senior Sergeant Christopher Taylor told ABC, adding that the operation was not a rescue but a recovery.
The victim was identified as 37-year-old Steven Jeffrey Payne, and his partner witnessed the incident, ABC reported. Police did recover the surfboard, which was described as having bite marks on it.
"The partner observed what happened yesterday, which is tragic," Taylor told ABC. "I don't think there's much point in utilizing all the resources that we have at the moment too much longer. There's only so much of the bay you can keep searching over and over. At the moment, we haven't recovered anything."
The Western Australian government does track shark activity. The SharkSmart website includes an interactive map showing shark sightings and providing safety information. The site noted that Western Australia is home to more than 100 species of sharks.
"The Western Australian Government is committed to keeping the community as safe as possible when using our oceans. There is no one simple solution, shark encounters are rare and the following shark safety initiatives, operational responses and shark safety tips, allow the community to keep informed and help reduce the risk of a shark encounter," the website states.
