A 40-year-old man has died after being attacked by a shark on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, local police said.
Luke Walford, a young pastor, was spear fishing with his family when he was bitten on Saturday afternoon.
He suffered “life-threatening injuries” and despite the efforts of first responders, he died at the scene an hour later, authorities said.
He and his family had been in the water at Humpy Island, in the Great Barrier Reef’s Keppel Bay Islands National Park, when the attack happened. This area is a popular spot for diving and snorkelling.
Walford was a former school teacher and pastor at the Cathedral of Praise in Rockhampton, Queensland.
Donna Kirkland, a local MP, said she was shocked, and that Walford was friends with “countless others.”
“My prayers and sympathies go out to his beautiful family and to the many who will be as devastated as I am by this news,” he added.
A family friend told ABC News that he had been watching a rescue helicopter fly over his house, not knowing it was his friend’s.
“I always say look for whoever, but to find out it was Luke was a very sad day,” said Doug Webber.
Queensland Police said a report would be prepared for the coroner.
The last fatal shark attack in Australia occurred in December 2023, there a little boy was killed in the south.
This year alone, there have been four other shark attacks in Australia, according to a local website.
In general, Australia sees more shark attacks than any other country outside the US.
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