The 41-year-old from Japan was pulled to the shore after the attack, but the injuries to his legs were too severe. Photo: Facebook
Tadashi Nakahara, 41, was surfing Shelly Beach on Monday morning when he was attacked and killed by a large, unidentified shark. After the incident, Nakahara was pulled to the shore by fellow surfers and was given medical attention, but died at the scene due to massive blood loss.
The incident occurred on a popular tourist beach in Ballina, New South Wales. According to ABC New Australia, Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay said Nakahara was surfing in a group when the shark attacked. “We believe he was surfing with up to four men, two were very close to him, they rendered assistance and brought him to shore. Unfortunately they could not stop the bleeding and at this stage. He had leg injuries and they were substantial, they were injuries that led to a significant loss of blood.”
Shelly is a popular tourist beach in Ballina, New South Wales. Screenshot: Google Map
A local surfer, Allan Baldock, told the Guardian that the shark appeared and swam past several other surfers in the water to attack Nakahara, who was sitting on his surfboard just 10m from the shoreline. “It went whack and he was thrown into the air. It must have been a huge, huge shark,” said Baldock. In the same statement, the Guardian reported, “The victim’s friends were shaken up and looked ‘white as a ghost’ as they carried his board away from the beach.”
Nakahara had been living in Ballina for the past year working as a distributor for Webster Surfboards. A friend of Nakahara, a Japanese national who has been living in Ballina for the past year, told the Guardian, “It [the shark] just came up between a bunch of surfer. They weren’t even that far out.”
Authorities closed the beaches from South Ballina to Lennox Head after the fatal attack. Photograph : Jason O’Brien
All beaches from South Ballina to Lennox Head have been closed until further notice. A shark expert is said to arrive to Ballina on Tuesday to assist in the investigation and determine the species of shark. “Once we know what type of shark it is and receive advice on whether or not that shark poses a threat to humans, then we’ll assess what we’ll do about the shark,” said Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay.
Monday’s incident follows an attack on a 35-year-old surfer at Byron Bay just one day prior. While surfing Seven Mile Beach on Sunday morning, Jabez Reitman came face-to-face with a 4 meter shark. Reitman is has already been released from a Gold Coast University hospital after suffering deep lacerations to his back.
