Sharks kill teenager in Adelaide

[Heath]

Sharks kill teenager in Adelaide
December 16, 2004

A TEENAGER is believed to have died instantly when he was attacked by two great white sharks off a metropolitan Adelaide beach today.


Friends watched as two sharks attacked and killed their 18-year-old surfer mate while he was surfboarding behind a boat at West Beach, about 10km west of Adelaide city centre.

One shark attacked the man after he fell from the surfboard, tearing him in half, authorities said. The other shark took the man's remains.

Police and South Australian emergency services said there had been no sign of the victim or the sharks since the attack, which happened about 3.30pm (CDT).

SA Sea Rescue Squadron spokesman Frasier Bell said one of the sharks was believed to be about five metres long while the other was about 4.5m long.

He said the attack happened 200m-300m offshore on a hot day at a crowded beach.

"He fell off the surfboard and the shark appeared and took him," Mr Bell said.

"It tore him apart ... apparently it tore him in half and the other shark came in and took the rest."

The victim was being towed in a boat containing his three 16-year-old friends, two of whom witnessed the attack.

The four, all from Adelaide's western suburbs, had been on the water for just 30 minutes before the attack occurred.

"They were just boys having a good time, the weather was perfect and they were just out doing what young lads do," Mr Bell said.

He said the teenagers tried in vain to rescue their mate.

"They tried everything they could think of but unfortunately the sharks had taken him by that stage," he said.

"They're in deep shock, they're a wreck.

"You can just imagine what the victim's parents are going to go through."

Asked if there was any chance the victim had survived, Mr Bell said: "No, none whatsoever".

SA police chief inspector David Lufty said beaches in the West Beach area would be closed as the search for the killer sharks continued.

He said that in the two hours immediately after the attack no items of significance had been found, lending weight to fears the victim was killed instantly.

Mr Bell said there had been recent reports of shark sightings off Adelaide's metropolitan coast, with the sea squadron issuing a shark warning a couple of weeks ago.

The last fatal shark attack off an Adelaide beach was in 1991, when 19-year-old Adelaide university student Jonathon Lee was killed by a white pointer while diving off Aldinga Beach, in the southern suburbs.

AAP

[mackmauler]

he must have had a really weird day

[Sergio_kutz]

Poor Kid.. And now because this is the second attack in a few days.. it's gonna hit the fan about sharks and are we protecting our beaches enough and this and that... Media hype....

[NQCairns]

Holy sh.....t, at least it was quick!

[megan]

And now they are deciding wether to hunt down the sharks and kill them! ???

[Heath]

Teens see sharks kill mate
December 17, 2004

AN afternoon of fun with four mates ended in horror yesterday when two Great White sharks killed a teenager in a ferocious attack off an Adelaide beach.


Nick Peterson, 18, was riding on a small surfboard being towed by a dinghy just 400m off West Beach when the attack occurred about 3.15pm (CDT).

Mr Peterson had been "scurfing" - a popular trend which involves towing a surfboard behind a boat - when a Great White at least 4m long surged at him. He tried to fend off the shark but disappeared within seconds.

A second Great White then joined the attack, striking at the boat as three of Mr Peterson's former Sacred Heart College schoolmates tried to strike it with paddles. They raced back to shore, alerting Anna and Frank Criscitelli - who were about to launch their boat - of the attack.

Mrs Criscitelli said they screamed: "Help - help us ... our mate's been taken by a shark. Don't go out, don't go out - sharks, sharks."

Mrs Criscitelli, 31, of Glenelg, said she could not believe what she was hearing and initially thought it was a joke.

"They were screaming at us that their mate had been taken by a shark," she said.

"They said it spun him around their boat, under the boat and a second shark ripped him to pieces.

"They said it was as big and as wide as their boat".

Witness Chris Niemoeller was swimming about 50m from the boys when he heard yelling.

"I could see these two huge fins come out of the water," he said. "It was just ferocious.

"One minute he was on the surfboard and he tried to beat it off and the next there was just a pool of blood.

"It was over in three seconds. He didn't stand a chance - he was just gone."

Thivo Kulasingam, 32, and his wife, Thanujah Haran, 30, of West Beach, were standing in front of the West Beach Surf Lifesaving Club when the attack occurred.

"We could see the shark just circling the boat around and around," Mr Kulasingam said.

"Then the shark started banging up against the boat - the noise was so loud we could hear it from the shore.

"There were three guys in the boat and two of them grabbed some paddles and started to bash the shark away but it kept attacking."

Experts did not rule out that the larger Great White was the same shark that has been stalking Adelaide's beaches in the past weeks. The hunt, by air and sea, began about 3.30pm (CDT), supported by police patrols along the beach alerting beachgoers of the attack.

However the beach was not closed to public, police instead leaving it to beachgoers to make their own judgment on swimming. Sea Rescue Squadron Rear Commodore Fraser Bell said an attack involving two sharks was "unprecedented" and may result in further attacks.

"I've never heard of two white pointers attacking human beings in this way," he said.

"He's (the shark) had a taste and he'll come back for more."

"It's just an absolute tragedy. They were just boys out there having a good time.

"The weather's just perfect and they were just doing what young lads do."

Chief Inspector David Lusty, of Sturt police, said a witness found the undamaged surfboard shortly before 4pm. About an hour later, searchers began finding human remains between Henley and Grange jetties.

"It was quite horrific but also quite quick," he said of the attack.

Mr Peterson and his three friends had been out on the water for about 30 minutes when the attack occurred.

It is believed he headed to the beach after finishing work for the day as a paver.

The death has rocked the close-knit Sacred Heart College community - where all four boys attended school.

Mr Peterson, originally from Ardrossan, was so popular he was voted house captain last year and was a role model to other Year 12s.

SHC principal Chris Blake described the incident as a "tragedy".

"He was just a great young person," he said. "It is incredible. It is hard to believe. We are terribly, terribly sad."

SHC boarding director Richard Maddigan said Mr Peterson was a keen surfer who loved the water.

He is the second man to be killed by a shark in Australian waters within a week.

Mark Thompson, 38, was killed on Saturday by a shark while spear fishing at Opal Reef off Cairns in north Queensland.

The last fatal shark attack off an Adelaide beach was in 1991, when 19-year-old Adelaide university student Jonathon Lee was killed by a white pointer, while diving off Aldinga Beach, in the southern suburbs.

The search for the remains of the teenager will resume this morning.

The Advertiser

[Derek Bullock]

I have never understood this protection crap on killer sharks.

If a human goes out and kills someone the cops hunt them down and hopefully the courts throw them in jail for a long time. It's called justice.

If a shark kills someone we have a big debate about whether we should hunt the shark down or not.

Same thing with snakes ............... totally protected. But let me tell you, one bites me its dead.

Who are more important ............. rogue sharks, animals or reptiles or people ? ? ? ? ? ?


Derek

[Fisheasy]

We all take the risk when we swim in an estuarine or beach situation go diving, whatever. We're entering their territory. Considering how many people swim in our coastal waters on a yearly basis, I'm still surprised there aren't more attacks.
Still sad to see a young lad's life being taken so early.

[CQ_Fisher]

The difference between a human going out and killing someone and a death as a result of an animal attack is simple; Humans have free will and should understand the consequences of their actions, a shark, croc, tiger, etc. do not have free will and are acting on survival instinct. Should we go out and slaughter every predatory animal on the face of the earth? If any predator was put in a situation where there was a human in its territory, i believe that they would all take advantage of the "easy meal" and why wouldnt they, to them we are just another animal entering their territory. Thats just my opinion.

JD

[el_carpo]

Both of these stories are just numbing (the kids and the spear-fisher). Lives lost and damaged. Horrible beyond words. I feel so bad for them and their loved ones. Even the timing is brutal. Christmas is so close. I hope these families are very close and that their friends are there for them with support. They'll need it. These stories really help put things in proper perspective. Hug your family and tell them you love them. You just never know. Rough.

[Dug]

Just awful, but the same kind of thing goes on on our roads everyday. Cruel, brutal and wasteful on average 500 killed every year and thousands crippled and maimed.

It is sad, but being eaten alive gets the imagination going, being mangled in a car or bike wreck we just don't want to think about. Drive safe, swim safe , boat safe, enjoy christmas and come back alive

[ba229]

Yep I'm with Dug.

Cars and drugs kill far more and many of a young age.

I can imagine how scared the 3 kids were, as I am sure it would freak me out for the rest of my life.

As for killing the sharks? I am undecided. I can understand the want to remove further threats. But it is also a wild animal that does what comes naturally to it.

[SeaHunt]

Sea Rescue Squadron Rear Commodore Fraser Bell said an attack involving two sharks was "unprecedented" and may result in further attacks.

"I've never heard of two white pointers attacking human beings in this way," he said. #
Hold on , when that surfer in WA was killed , didn't they say there were two Great White there , a larger one which attacked and a smaller one just learning the tricks of the trade. Could be the same ones.
#???
Also on ACA, which was on after the cricket they were talking to some shark research guy who had tagged a Great White in roughly the same area (SA) with a satellite tracking device that would transmit a signal every time the dorsal fin broke the surface.
Anyway this shark swam from SA around the coastline all the way up to the GBR off Gladstone and back in about a year, which surprised this scientist somewhat.
It seems these guys are cruising past our most populated beaches all the time, probably a few miles off the coast though.
Remember back in the mid 70's (guessing) that Vic Hislop tool, pulled a white pointer out of Morten Bay which was about 20 foot long and weighed over a ton.
He was putting gallons of blood in the water for 2 days before he caught it , so it was probably attracted in from out at the edge of the shelf.
I was there at Scarborough boat ramp that day they haulled it out with a crane and rested it on a minni to show the newshounds how big it was.

[dfox]

Im no shark lover, but i'll guess that more people have been killed in the period of these two attacks by drunk drivers.....

[fishsmith]

Any loss of life is sad news,however the amount of lives that are ruined or lost through road accidents are out of control and i think we, as a society need to focus more on the real killers out there.

As for protection for the Great White shark its a magnificant animal and i'm all for it..