Man rushed to hospital after shark attack in Western Australia

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Louise Thomas

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A man is in hospital after a reported shark attack on a remote beach in western Australia.

Ambulance services rushed to Fourteen Mile Beach, a picturesque spot on Western Australia’s northwest coast, at about 11am on Monday following the reports of a shark attack.

When they arrived, they found a male victim who had been mauled by an unknown species of shark. It is believed he had been spearfishing when the attack happened.

The victim was then rushed to a nursing post for treatment at Coral Bay about 25 miles north. A Western Australia country health service spokesperson said the man was in a stable condition.

A member of the public said later they had spotted an unknown species of shark five metres offshore in the area.

Tracker SharkSmart also reported that a shark of similar length had been spotted off the coast of nearby Exmouth just 10 minutes before the attack.

The incident came after the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development issued shark advice earlier on Monday when a whale carcass was spotted floating near Point Cloates, about 39 miles north of where the shark bite happened.

Swimmers near Fourteen Mile Beach have now also been urged to “take additional caution” when near the coast and to “be aware of any signage and beach closures”.

Shark attacks are not particularly common in the area; one local said after this latest attack that it was only the third or fourth off Fourteen Mile Beach in decades.

But in April, a man was bitten by a shark at the Bombie surfing spot near Exmouth, about 105 miles to the north.