Man killed by shark while diving off Australian coast

The daughter of a man killed by a shark off the coast of Tasmania today saw the incident while diving with him for scallops, local media is reporting.

The woman, in her 20s, saw the attack after diving beneath the surface after being anxious that he had not surfaced, police said in a Sky News report.

Inspector David Wiss said: “His daughter became anxious and went down and checked on her father”.

Government ranger Peter Lingard told The Examiner newspaper the attack happened off the east coast near where a four-and-a-half foot great white shark was seen a day earlier.

Tasmanian Scallop Association president John Hammond said the area was known for its scallops, but not sharks. “Bloody awful”, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding that there were a number of other divers in the water at the time.

The hobbyist was swimming in shallow waters to collect shellfish when he was attacked by the predator. The scallop season has been very good to professional and recreational fisherman and then we’ve got a disaster like like this.

Saturday’s attack came as Australian surfer Mick Fanning made his first return to the water since he fought off a large shark in South Africa.

It’s the seventh shark attack in Australian waters since last October and the fourth fatal attack in that time.

Sean Pollard, 23, loses both hands after a shark attack at Wylie Bay Beach, near Esperance, WA.