Beachgoers look on in horror as shark kills swimmer in Australia. ‘Blood everywhere’

On a visit to Little Bay Beach in Australia, Kris Linto heard yelling and turned around to the horrific sight of a shark dragging a thrashing swimmer underwater.

“It looked like a car had landed in the water, a big splash, then the shark was chomping at the body and there was blood everywhere,” Linto told 9 News Australia. He identified it as a great white shark.

The attack killed a man swimming off the beach near Sydney at 4:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, Feb. 16, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

He was identified as Simon Nellist, 35, a diving instructor who was engaged, 7 News reported.

“Unfortunately this person had suffered catastrophic injuries and there wasn’t a lot paramedics could do when we arrived,” a New South Wales Ambulance spokeswoman told News.com.au.

Authorities closed Little Bay Beach and nearby beaches for 24 hours, CNN reported.

It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney in about 60 years, Newsweek reported.

“The coast is our community’s backyard,” Mayor Dylan Parker of nearby Randwick told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Little Bay is normally such a calm, beautiful place, enjoyed by families. To lose someone to a shark like this is chilling. We are all in shock.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Beachgoers look on in horror as shark kills swimmer in Australia. ‘Blood everywhere’."