A 63-year-old father and soon-to-be grandfather was reportedly killed by a shark while swimming off an Australian beach this week.
Greg O’Neill was in the water at Sorrento Beach, in Perth’s northern suburbs of Western Australia, on Friday when the attack unfolded in front of stunned beachgoers.
Ryan Rowe, a local who arrived at the beach shortly after the incident, described the amount of blood as overwhelming. “I couldn’t believe there was that much blood (that had) come out of a human body,” he told The West Australian.
A great white shark swims in a file photo. (Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The fatal shark attack led Western Australia Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis to authorize the rare capture and killing of the great white shark believed to be involved. Great whites are protected under Australian law.
“In making that decision, I considered the exceptional circumstances of the attack, the hazard posed by the shark, and the potential recovery of coronial evidence,” Jarvis said.
Police have not confirmed whether O’Neill’s remains were recovered, but said they were confident that the “swimmer died as a result of the attack.”
Police stand on Sorrento Beach in Perth, Australia on Friday after a suspected fatal shark attack. (Andrew O’Connor/Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP)
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Witness Darrel Haythornthwaite told Nine Network television that O’Neill had been swimming alongside a friend when the shark struck.
“I was just shocked. I mean, I feel for his mate,” Haythornthwaite said. He recalled the swimmer apologizing and saying, “I didn’t save my mate.” Haythornthwaite responded, “You couldn’t have done anything.”
Speaking to ABC News Australia, O’Neill’s family said they were “deeply shocked and devastated” by the loss of Greg James O’Neill, whom they described as a father, grandfather-to-be, brother, uncle, husband and friend.
A police boat and helicopter patrol Sorrento Beach in Perth, Australia, on Friday after a suspected fatal shark attack. (Andrew O’Connor/Australian Broadcasting Corp via AP)
“He was a generous, devoted family man that gave his children so much love, care and opportunity,” the family said. “Greg loved the ocean and was known as a passionate swimmer, sports lover, dedicated worker and an all round generous, witty guy.” They also thanked those who had offered messages of support during the tragedy.
The incident came days after another shark attack left a surfer with a serious leg injury on Monday, roughly 250 miles north of Perth.
O’Neill was the fifth person to die in a shark attack in Australia this year.
Three spearfishing divers were killed in separate attacks between May and June, while a 12-year-old boy died in a shark attack in Sydney Harbor in January.