Swimmer killed in shark attack off Australia's west coast

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - SYDNEY — A swimmer has died after a shark attack off the coast of the Western Australian city of Perth, police confirmed on Friday.

The man was attacked around 50 meters off Sorrento Beach in the city's north. He was initially reported missing following the attack.

This marks Australia's fifth fatal shark attack this year, including three off the west coast.

Emergency crews were called to a "shark-related incident" at Sorrento Beach at around 10.15 local time on Friday.

Police said an extensive search of the area was carried out by authorities in helicopters and on boats but did not say whether a body had been found.

One witness described seeing a man being pulled under the water by a shark, just 50 meters off the shore, while another said they saw a "pool of blood" in the water, according to local media.

One witness told local outlet WAtoday that she saw the man being "mauled" as the shark "tossed him around like a fish".

"I'm a nurse, so I mean I obviously see a lot of gruesome stuff, but to see somebody being mauled to death in the water in front of me is pretty hard to clock," she told WAtoday.

"I only live just down the road, and I swim every day. I mean, there's no way I'm going to be getting in that water again."

Another witness said she was walking along the beach with a friend when the attack happened.

"I looked out to the ocean and I could see a pool of blood," Jacqui Rapaic told national broadcaster ABC.

She said she believed two people had been swimming, but only one had made it back to shore.

Members of the public had reported seeing a 2.5-meter-long shark at around the same time.

Sorrento Beach, around 20 kilometres north of central Perth, will remain closed to swimmers until at least Saturday, according to the state-run SharkSmart platform.

There have been multiple fatal shark attacks in Australia over the past year, including on a 12-year-old boy in Sydney in January.

The attack came just days after a 56-year-old surfer was attacked by a shark at Glenfield Beach, more than 400 kilometres north of Perth. He reportedly lost a foot in the attack.

Official data from 2025 showed that Australia recorded an average of around 20 shark incidents involving injuries each year over the previous decade, with an average of 2.8 fatalities annually.