A 10ft great white shark has attacked and killed a 60-year-old surfer off the coast of New South Wales in Australia.
Several "heroic" boarders fought off the shark and tried to help the injured man before pulling him ashore at Salt Beach in South Kingscliff, police said.
He was given first aid for serious injuries to his left leg but died at the scene.
Nearby beaches were cleared of swimmers and surfers and will remain closed for 24 hours.
New South Wales Police Detective Inspector Matt Kehoe told reporters: "The male was taken out of the water with the assistance of some other surfers in the area.
"But tragically he has passed away at the scene. He suffered a significant injury to his left leg."
He called the action of those who had tried to save the victim "nothing short of heroic" and said the shark had been spotted "on a number of occasions just off the shore".
The Sydney Morning Herald said police gunmen were deployed to find the shark, but were unable to kill it and it left the area after several hours.
Kingscliff resident Stuart Gonsal had just arrived at the beach for a surf, when he found out about the fatal attack.
“We came down and we hadn’t got in the water and police were immediately hauling people in,” Mr Gonsal told ABC radio.
“We found out there was a fatal shark attack on the south side of the rock wall. We were going to get in, we’re not going to now for sure.”
It was at least the third fatal shark attack in Australia this year.
In January, a diver was killed near Esperance off the Western Australia state coast. In April, a shark fatally mauled a 23-year-old wildlife worker on the Great Barrier Reef.
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