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Emergency services were searching for the body of a surfer in South Australia Wednesday morning after a suspected shark attack, police said.
South Australia Police said in a statement that the 55-year-old man, who has not been named, was surfing at Granites Beach, south of Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula on Tuesday.
At 10.20 a.m. (7.20 a.m. Monday ET), witnesses told police they saw a shark attack the man and police say they believe he died from the attack.
Local and regional police, state emergency services and local volunteers all began a search on Tuesday, which continued into Wednesday.
Witness told 7News, NBC News’ Australian broadcasting partner, that the man was with about a dozen surfers in the water at the time.
One said that the shark “grabbed him, pulled him back down, brought him back up, pulled him back down again.”
Surfer Jeff Schmucker told 7News Tuesday that he went out into the water on a jet ski hoping to find the victim, but instead saw a great white shark measuring more than 13 feet long and a surfboard with a bite mark.
“The only thing that was in the water was a surfboard, just still floating in the water, literally one to two minutes after the final assault on the guy,” he said.
Schmucker later said in a video posted to social media that there was little point continuing the search.
“I’m not sure why you would have a helicopter out here this afternoon, looking for what? I’ve argued with the water police today that I know where the body of the surfer is — it’s inside the shark,” he said.
The area is well known for its sharks, and a number of commercial shark tour diving companies operate along the coast.
