View onto Coffs Harbour in Northern NSW, Australia. Photo: Shutterstock/Christopher Meder
Zac Young was surfing Riecks Point near Coffs Harbour, around 280 miles north of Sydney, when a shark attacked him 100 meters off shore. The shark bit into both of his legs, according to a report by The Huffington Post. Friends were able to fight the shark and get Young back to the beach where they tried to resuscitate him before paramedics arrived. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead a short time after due to leg injuries.
This marks the second fatal shark attack in Australia in under a week. Chris Boyd was killed surfing south of Perth days before. As of yet, there is no word on what type of shark was involved. Although shark sightings are common in Australia, fatal shark attacks have been somewhat rare up until this point. Over the past fifty years, Australia averaged around one fatal shark attack per year.
After the incident, authorities closed down the beach for 24 hours. Due to the amount of fatalities recently, the state’s west coast is controversially considering a shark cull.
