Police are searching for a swimmer missing in waters off the west coast of Australia after a suspected shark attack.
Emergency crews were called to a “shark-related incident” at Sorrento Beach in Perth, Western Australia around 10.15 local time on Friday.
Three St John ambulance crews attended, with local authorities confirming that “water police and the police air wing” remained at the scene as they searched for a missing person.
One witness described seeing a man being pulled under the water by a shark, just 50 metres off the shore, while another said they saw a “pool of blood” in the water, according to local media.
One witness told local outlet WAtoday that she saw the man being “mauled” as the shark “tossed him around like a fish”.
“I’m a nurse, so I mean I obviously see a lot of gruesome stuff, but to see somebody being mauled to death in the water in front of me is pretty hard to clock,” she told WAtoday.
“I only live just down the road, and I swim every day. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to be getting in that water again.”
Another witness said she was walking along the beach with a friend when the attack happened.
“I looked out to the ocean and I could see a pool of blood,” Jacqui Rapaic told national broadcaster ABC.
The beach remains closed to the public and authorities have asked the public to avoid the area.
