Man dies after shark attack in Western Australia

A 38-year-old man has died after a shark attack in Western Australia.

Emergency services were called just before 10am local time to reports of the incident, which happened off Rottnest Island, near Perth.

“The rescue helicopter is on scene, along with police and island emergency services,” a spokesperson for St John Ambulance Western Australia said earlier.

Despite efforts from the rescue team, paramedics were unable to revive the man, news.com.au reported.

A Western Australia police spokeswoman said he had been in the water at Horseshoe Reef when he was believed to have been bitten.

“The man was conveyed by vessel to shore, where he was met by SJA WA paramedics,” she said.

There have been nearly 1300 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 260 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators’ encounters with humans.

The most recent fatality was a 12-year-old boy who died after being attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour in January.

That attack was one of four recorded in two days, which prompted officials to close dozens of the city’s beaches.

It was the city’s third recent shark-related death.

Australian scientists believe increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures are swaying sharks’ migratory patterns, which may be contributing to a rise in attacks.

- AFP