Man dies after being bitten by 'large shark' while surfing
A man has died after being bitten by a "large shark" while surfing in Australia.
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Australia's New South Wales Police confirmed that the man died on the Northern Beaches on Saturday morning.
Emergency services were called to Long Reef Beach shortly after 10am, where they responded to reports of a man suffering from critical injuries.
A spokesperson for the force said: "He was retrieved from the surf and brought to the shore; however, died at the scene.
"Officers attached to Northern Beaches Police Area Command have closed the beach and will liaise with experts from the Department of Primary Industries to determine the species of shark involved."
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Australian media have named 57-year-old Mercury Psillakis as the victim of the attack, he was married and had a young daughter, police have said.
Witness Mark Morgenthal told Sky News Australia that he believes the shark was about six metres in size.
He said: "There was a guy screaming, 'I don't want to get bitten, I don't want to get bitten, don't bite me,' and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge.
"Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark."
Two sections of the man's surfboard were recovered and taken for expert examination as a drone searches the surrounding area for the shark.
Beaches between Manly and Narrabeen have been closed pending further advice.
New South Wales Police Superintendent John Duncan said: "The gentleman had gone out about 9.30 this morning with some of his friends, about five or six of his mates.
"He's an experienced surfer that we understand.
"Unfortunately, it would appear that a large, what we believe to be a shark, has attacked him. And as a result of that, he lost a number of limbs.
"His colleagues managed to make it back to the beach safely, and a short time later, his body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it."