Man killed in shark attack after screams of 'don't bite me' heard

A man killed by a shark in Australia has been named, as a witness described hearing screams of "don't bite me" moments before the fatal attack.

Emergency services responded to reports that a man in his 50s had suffered critical injuries at Long Reef Beach, Sydney, shortly after 10am (1am in the UK) on Saturday. Authorities said that the man was brought to shore but died at the scene.

The victim - named by Australian media as Mercury Psillakis - was married and had a young daughter, police said - with the incident happening a day before Father's Day in Australia. Two sections of a surfboard have been recovered and taken for examination, and beaches near the area are closed as drones search for the animal.

Police are liaising with wildlife experts to determine the species of shark involved. Screams of 'don't bite me' heard by witness Speaking to Sky News Australia, witness Mark Morgenthal said he saw the attack and that the shark was one of the biggest he had ever seen.

"There was a guy screaming, 'I don't want to get bitten, I don't want to get bitten, don't bite me,' and I saw the dorsal fin of the shark come up, and it was huge," Mr Morgenthal said. "Then I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking, and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark." Victim was a father and experienced surfer New South Wales Police Superintendent John Duncan said at a news conference that the victim was 57 years old, calling the incident a "terrible tragedy".

"The gentleman had gone out about 9.30 this morning with some of his friends, about five or six of his mates," he added. "He's an experienced surfer that we understand.

"Unfortunately, it would appear that a large, what we believe to be a shark, has attacked him. And as a result of that, he lost a number of limbs.

"His colleagues managed to make it back to the beach safely, and a short time later, his body was found floating in the surf, and a couple of other people went out and recovered it." Mr Duncan added that officers "understand he leaves behind a wife and a young daughter... and obviously tomorrow being Father's Day is particularly critical and particularly tragic".

Local surfer and eyewitness Bill Sakula also told reporters at the beach: "It's going to send shockwaves through the community. "Everyone is going to be a little bit nervous for a while." Read more:British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash namedHow relationships can be rocked by serious illnessMandelson calls Trump a maverick 'risk taker' Surf Life Saving NSW has deployed a drone to search for further shark activity.

Its chief executive Steve Pearce said: "Our deepest condolences go to the family of the man involved in this terrible tragedy." Shark attacks are very rare, with this incident widely thought to be the first in New South Wales this year. The last time a person in Sydney was killed in a shark attack was in February 2022 - the city's first fatal shark attack since 1963..