A scallop diver has died after being bitten by a shark in Australia.
Damien Johnson, 46, was diving with his daughter off the coast of Maria Island, in the southern island state of Tasmania, when he was killed by a suspected great white shark.
“My understanding is the daughter returned to the boat and the father returned to get some more scallops. He did not return to the surface. His daughter became worried and went down and checked on her father, she saw a very large shark, she saw her father being attacked by the shark.” Tasmania Police Inspector David Wiss told reporters
She returned to the boat and signaled for help using a flare.
Once rescuers arrived, they were able to retrieve her father’s body by pulling on his surface supplied air hose.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation spoke to diver Danny Smith who said he and a friend had an interaction with a shark in the same area on Friday. After seeing the shark, he quickly exited the water by boarding his boat. He then saw the shark come to the surface and believes it was investigating his whereabouts.
At the same time the boat crew was attempting to pull a second diver out of the water. Smith stated the shark “took a swipe” at the other diver being pulled to the surface.
He said: “We saw fins and arms and legs going everywhere, we were initially thinking that we were going to pull in half a body. We got him on the boat and she (the shark) came right to the back of the boat and then just descended back to the bottom”. Fortunately the other diver was okay.
This is the seventh fatal incident of 2015.
All locations have been marked on the 2015 shark attack bites tracking map.
