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A surfer has died on a California beach from an attack by what appears to be a great white shark, prompting local authorities to ask the public not to swim in those waters for the next 24 hours.
Surfer killed by great white shark attack on California beach
The incident has occurred on the beach at Morro Bay State Park on California’s central coast, the Police Department has reported on Twitter.
Officer Eric Endersby, quoted by ABC News, has explained that a bather saw a surfboard and right next to it a person face down whom she dragged to the shore with the help of a patrol car.
The man appeared to have been attacked by a shark. Emergency services came to his aid but the surfer was no longer responding to their care, so they could only certify his death.
The bite will have to be analyzed by the coroner
Although there are no witnesses to the incident, the bite, which will have to be analyzed by a coroner, is consistent with those usually left by white sharks, Endersby said.
Beaches in the area will remain open but authorities have asked residents not to swim for the next 24 hours until the incident is clarified.
Attacks in this area are rare
Shark attacks in this area are infrequent. In the last year, there have been a total of 33 shark attacks on bathers in the United States, three of them with fatalities, one in California, according to data from the University of Florida, which is where half of the attacks occurred.
