A man has died after being attacked by a shark in Australia’s north-eastern state of Queensland, police said on Sunday.
The 39-year-old man died after being pulled from the water at Kennedy Shoal, a shallow reef about 45 kilometers (28 miles) off the coast and 160 kilometers south of the popular tourist city of Cairns.
What do we know about fatal shark attacks?
A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said the man was taken to shore where he received an ambulance, but died a short time later.
Emergency services were called to the Hull River Heads boat ramp just before 12:00 p.m., police said in a statement. Queensland Ambulance said the injured man died at the boat ramp.
“The man was pulled from the water and died from his injuries,” police said.
Recent increase in shark attacks
This is the second shark attack in Australia this month. On 16 May, a 38-year-old man was asked to evacuate from an island near Perth in the west.
According to conservation groups, there are about 20 shark attacks each year in Australia, but most of them are not fatal. Death by drowning is far more common on the country’s beaches.
In January, dozens of beaches on the east coast, including Sydney, were closed after four shark attacks in the span of two days. The attacks coincided with heavy rains, creating murky waters that attract sharks and reduce their visibility.
Australia has seen an increase in shark attacks recently, which scientists believe may be due to changes in the animals’ migration patterns amid increasingly crowded waters and warming oceans.
Edited by: Natalie Muller