WEST OZ SHARK ATTACK

A photo of the victim, Sean Pollard, from his Facebook account.

A 23-year-old surfer suffered brutal injuries yesterday in a shark attack in the town of Esperance, WA. The surfer, Sean Pollard, was bit at Wylie Bay Beach and lost one arm below the elbow and his other hand, suffering severe lacerations to his legs as well. Following the attack, Pollard was reportedly rushed to a local hospital for treatment before being flown to another hospital in Perth.

Yesterday’s incident marked the second shark attack in the town of Esperance in a year and reinvigorated the debate on shark culling measures in WA. Just last month, the WA government announced that it would halt its controversial shark cull.

However, following the attack, government officials gave the go-ahead to catch and kill suspected sharks in the area near where the attack occurred. Reporting from the area states that officials cast a drum line to catch and kill the suspected shark. The Department of Fisheries confirmed to ABC News that two separate white sharks, one estimated to be larger than 10-feet long, had been caught and killed near where the attack took place. The WA Department of Fisheries could not confirm if these shark(s) were responsible for the attack.

Beaches in the surrounding area have been closed.