A morning dive off Western Australia turned fatal when a shark killed a man in his thirties, marking the nation’s fourth deadly shark attack this year, police said.
Ambulance services and the Western Australian government said the diver was attacked by a 4.5-metre shark near Michaelmas Island, southeast of Perth.
Authorities received the report at about 11.25am local time, they added.
Police said the man had been spearfishing when the shark struck. He was brought back to shore, where paramedics tried to save him.
“Sadly, he was unable to be revived,” they said.
In the aftermath, the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development advised the public to take “additional caution” in the area and to keep up to date with shark sightings nearby.
The fatality follows another shark-related death reported two weeks ago in northern Queensland state.
It was also Western Australia’s second fatal attack of the year. Last month, a man died after being attacked by a great white off Rottnest Island, near the city of Perth.
Australian scientists say a combination of increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures is altering sharks’ migratory patterns, a shift they believe may be contributing to more attacks.
