Teen surfer killed in shark attack

A 17-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a shark while surfing off Australia’s east coast.

Police said the teenager was surfing at Wooli Beach, near Grafton, about 370 miles north of Sydney in New South Wales state, when he was attacked.

Several other surfers took the boy to shore, where he was treated for severe leg injuries but he died at the scene, they added.

The boy’s name and nationality were not disclosed. Local authorities are conducting a formal investigation of the incident.

Australia is known for a large number of unprovoked shark encounters with humans and Saturday’s attack was the country’s 10th so far in 2020, according to data published by the Taronga Conservation Society.

Two of those have occurred in the last week alone and at least five of them have been fatal. Last Saturday, a 20-year-old scuba diver who was spear-fishing was killed by a shark off the coast of Australia’s Queensland state.

The man was attacked near Indian Head on the eastern side of Fraser Island. That attack occurred not far from where 23-year-old Queensland wildlife ranger Zachary Robba was fatally mauled by a great white shark in April.

A 57-year-old diver was killed off Western Australia state in January, and a 60-year-old surfer was killed off Kingscliff in New South Wales state in June.