Emerald Beach shark attack: Killed surfer seen in water without arm

A traumatised surfer mauled by a great white shark begged for help as he clung to his board bleeding to death in waters off the NSW North Coast.

A traumatised surfer mauled by a great white shark begged for help as he clung to his board bleeding to death in waters off the NSW North Coast.

Stunned surfers found the man, 31, drifting in and out of consciousness on his board while attempting to make his way to the shores of Emerald Beach near Coffs Harbour.

“Help me,” he faintly told surfer Hugh Riley who was among a group of friends who reached him at around 10am yesterday morning.

“Me and some mates were surfing 20 meters north of him and noticed some commotion on the beach with people frantically waving their arms to alert us to what was going on,” Mr Riley said.

“He had managed to pull himself over his surfboard — he was trying to make it back to shore.

“He was conscious and in a state of shock, he could barely speak, the look of extreme horror in his eyes was what I saw, it was very confronting.

“Once we got over the shock, we got him off his board and carried him to shore and tourniqueted his shoulder with a leg rope and performed CPR.

“We gave him the best shot at life we could but he didn’t make it. We’re so sorry for his family, we did everything we could to try to save him.”

The man, who was recently married and had moved to the area from Foster, was pronounced dead at the scene despite emergency services’ attempts to resuscitate him.

A man has died after his arm was mauled by a shark while surfing on the NSW North Coast. Picture: Frank Redward

Emergency crews on the beach. Picture: Frank Redward

A Westpac Rescue Helicopter had winched in a critical care medical team to treat him at the scene.

“It was devastating for everybody on the beach,” NSW ambulance inspector Chris Wilson said yesterday.

“A number of local surfers and bystanders came to the aid of this man, they were incredibly brave in a very challenging situation.

“The patient suffered a critical injury to his arm, but despite the best efforts of bystanders, paramedics and other emergency services, he couldn’t be revived.”

The attack is the second fatal shark fatality in NSW this year, though it’s believed another man was killed by a shark off South Australia in January.

Another surfer was mauled by a 4.5m great white shark off Tuncurry Beach on the NSW mid-north coast in May.

There have been six shark attacks in the waters off NSW this year, of which two were fatal, three injured and one uninjured.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said its shark bite experts confirmed it was a great white and was today deploying SMART drumlines at Shelly Beach, Coffs Harbour, to monitor the area and provide technical advice and resources.

The beach being closed after the attack. Picture: Frank Redward

Drones have been deployed in the area as part of the Shark Incident Response Plan.

“NSW DPI shark scientists have analysed photographs of the bite and determined a white shark is likely responsible for the bite,” a DPI spokesman said.

“NSW DPI extends sincere condolences to his family and friends.”

Emerald Beach, Shelly Beach and Serenity Bay are closed to water activity while DPI officials continue to monitor the situation.

Originally published as Emerald Beach shark attack: Killed surfer seen in water without arm