A shark fatally mauled a 38-year-old spearfisher on Saturday off Rottnest Island, Australia, police said. The victim was attacked on a coral reef while diving with a friend, according to Western Australia Police Sergeant Michael Wear.
The man was near a dive boat when he was bitten on the legs, Wear said. He was then taken by that boat one kilometer (1,100 yards) to the island, where paramedics tried to revive him but were unsuccessful.
Lifeguards reported seeing a five-meter (16-foot) white shark in the vicinity before the attack, Wear added.
The attack was Australia’s first shark fatality since January, when a 12-year-old boy died in a hospital days after he was mauled by a bull shark in Sydney Harbor. Rottnest Island’s last fatal shark attack was in 2011, when a 32-year-old diver died.
According to the Associated Press, Australia has averaged more than three fatal shark attacks a year in recent decades.