A man has died after being attacked by a shark at a beach in Australia. The swimmer who is believed to be in his 50s was bitten on the leg just off Greenmount Beach in Coolangatta. The incident happened just after 5 pm local time. While the Queensland Ambulance Service arrive quickly, the man died shortly died after the attack. Following the incident, both north and south of Greenmount Beach were shut for visitors. Gold Coast is expected to stay closed on Wednesday. Terrifying Video of Shark Chasing Teens Spearfishing at Bulli Point in Wollongong Will Send Shivers Down the Spine!

Witnesses told the local channel, that bystanders and lifeguards had rushed into the water to help the man, but he succumbed to his injuries. Police are conducting an aerial search for any sign of the shark. Shark attacks are rare in Gold Coast with the last one being in 2012 when a 20-year-old surfer was bitten in the waters off Nobby Beach. The attack on Tuesday is, in fact, the first fatal shark attack to occur on a Gold Coast beach in over 60 years. Last time it proved fatal to Peter Gerard Spronk at Surfers Paradise Beach in 1958. Shark Bites Off a Tourist's Leg and Injures Another While Snorkelling Near Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Greenmount Beach is protected by shark control equipment including shark nets. However, Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries shark net program website warns nets to “not provide an impenetrable barrier between sharks and humans”. The nets are to catch "resident sharks” and those that pass through the area while feeding on fish bait. However, it does not prevent the big fish from entering any particular area, according to the website.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2020 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).