Search resumes for Australian surfer missing after shark attack

The desperate search for a Western Australian surfer who was caught by a shark on Friday has resumed.

Andrew Sharpe was surfing around 10:45 a.m. at Kelp Beds near Esperance when he was bitten and dragged below the surface. Later, a surfboard with bite marks washed ashore, but the father of two has yet to be found.

It is the fifth incident in the area in just seven years, with a teenage girl killed in the same place three years ago.

Locals said the shark-infested waters were “too dangerous” for surfers.

“Sharks always prowl these waters in Esperance for years and decades. We don’t swim in these waters too far from the shallow waters,” Denise Colbung said.

Wayne Brennand said the Kelp Beds should be “permanently closed to surfing.”

“Honestly, how many more people have to suffer?” he said.

The search, which involved jet skis and boats, was called off due to lack of daylight on Friday night, but resumed on Saturday morning.

Ships from the Volunteer Marine Rescue, the Department of Transportation, the Esperance Port Authority and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development are roaming the waters in the Kelp Beds area.

Volunteers from the State Emergency Service are conducting a ground search.

Drones are monitoring the area from above, and police divers are also joining the massive effort.

Esperance’s Sergeant Major Justin Tarasinski said as many as eight surfers were in the water at the time of the attack.

“The surfboard came close to where the attack occurred and with obvious signs of a shark attack,” he told reporters on Friday.

“The chances of survival are obviously pretty slim considering some of the accounts that have been provided to us.”

Prime Minister Mark McGowan described it as a “very sad and potentially tragic” situation.

Shire of Esperance President Ian Mickel said the community was saddened by the tragedy.

“It is extremely sad to hear that there has been a shark attack again,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of seizures in the last seven years. It’s really, really disappointing.”

David Swan, a member of Esperance’s ocean safety and support committee, told NCA NewsWire that everyone was devastated.

“Our thoughts are with family and close friends.

“Everyone is a little shocked and very sad.”