Overview
- A male swimmer was fatally attacked about 50 metres offshore at Sorrento Beach on Friday morning, with emergency services alerted at about 10:15 a.m.
- Police, water police, the RAC Rescue helicopter, Surf Life Saving WA and DPIRD fisheries vessels conducted extensive air and sea searches and forensics teams attended the scene.
- Multiple witnesses reported seeing blood in the water and the victim being pulled beneath the surface while a companion watched from shore and was consoled by rescuers.
- The City of Joondalup closed almost 12 kilometres of coastline as authorities track repeated shark sightings, including reports of a large shark about 1.6 kilometres west of Hillarys Boat Harbour and unverified media claims about a removal order.
- The attack adds to a cluster of recent shark incidents in Western Australia this year and is likely to accelerate surveillance, tagging and aerial patrols already planned for the season.