Search underway for surfer presumed dead after shark attack in Australia

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Shark attacks free diver in Maldives

A nurse shark nipped at a free diver in the Maldives, leaving the woman with a six-inch mark on her shoulder blade. Credit: @the_sharkguy on Instagram

Rescuers were searching waters off South Australia Saturday for a 46-year-old surfer presumed to have been killed by a shark. 

"A man is believed to have died following a shark attack at Walkers Rocks Beach," police said in a statement.

The remote beach popular with surfers is near Elliston, a town of fewer than 1,000 people located about 400 miles south of Adelaide, the state capital. The unidentified man is from there.

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Rescuers search for the body of a surfer presumed dead following a shark attack Saturday off the coast of South Australia.  (Australian Broadcasting Corporation/Reuters)

"It’s not easy when it’s a local involved, but we commend their strength and their want to assist," Superintendent Paul Bahr said of community members helping in the search, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. 

"We will continue to search with the assistance of local emergency services and other resources."

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Beachgoers remain unaware a tiger shark swims in the water near the shore in this file photo. (Storyful)

Several surfers reportedly witnessed the attack Saturday morning and called for emergency services, which are scouring the water by sea and air. 

During the search, a damaged wetsuit was found, and a shark was spotted, the Herald reported. 

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No one else was injured in the attack, police said. 

In February, a 16-year-old girl died after she was attacked by a shark in Western Australia. 

Reuters contributed to this report.