Man Mauled by Shark at Popular South Australian Seaside Jetty

A man was in serious condition after being bitten by a shark in Australia.

The victim, whose identity has not been publicly revealed, was bitten off the Port Noarlunga jetty on Thursday, May 15. (Port Noarlunga is 20 miles south of Adelaide, Australia, and 465 miles northwest of Melbourne.)

Emergency services were dispatched to the port around 9:45 a.m. local time, with reports that a man was swimming and suffering a shark bite. Paramedics removed him from the water and treated him at the scene. He was taken to the hospital in serious condition, police said, per News.com.au.

Swimmers were then evacuated from the water, which is a popular location for swimming, snorkeling and diving.

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The news of the recent attack follows four shark attack fatalities in South Australia in the past two years. More recently, Lance Appleby, 28, was surfing when he was killed by a great white shark near Granites Beach, Streaky Bay in the Eyre Peninsula. Appleby’s body was never discovered despite an extensive search, per the Herald Sun.

Just about a year before, in December 2023, 15-year-old Khai Cowley died after he was attacked while surfing Ethel Beach on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, per Australia Broadcasting Channel.

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Two months before Cowley’s death, Tod Gendle, 55, was also killed while surfing near Streaky Bay. A huge 13-foot great white shark attacked him.

Forty-six-year-old teacher Simon Baccanello was assumed to have been fatally attacked by a shark while he was surfing at Walkers Rock near Elliston.

In addition to the three fatal attacks in 2023, there were two more attacks, but the victims survived. Bridgette O’Shannessy, then 32, was also bitten on the head in Port Noarlunga in November 2023, per Australia Broadcasting Channel. In October, Pam Cook, then 64, was swimming in a group in Beachport when her legs were bitten.