A surfer has died after being mauled by a great white shark off the coast of Australia.

The 60-year-old man, Rob Pedretti, was bitten on the back of his leg before 2 other people managed to successfully fend off the shark.

However, other surfers managed to drag the man ashore.

He died on the Salt Beach as a result of his injuries.

The incident happened at Salt Beach in Kingscliff, New South Wales, Australia.

The man, who was from Tagun in Queensland, was given first aid at the scene but died eventually.

The police later confirmed the incident and said that a 10-foot shark is believed to be behind the attack.

The great white shark has been spotted in the area on a number of occasions before the attack happened.

The NSW (New South Wales) Department of Primary Industries confirmed that a shark biologist had assessed photographs of the man’s injuries.

The Biologist confirmed that the fatal attack was carried out by a great white shark.

Matt Kehoe, a detective at the New South Wales Police, said:

The male was taken out of the water with the assistance of some other surfers in the area. But tragically he has passed away at the scene. He suffered a significant injury to his left leg. The shark has been sighted on a number of occasions just off the shore.

New South Wales Ambulance Inspector Terence Savage talked about the incident.

He said:

When you get a call to attend a shark attack, you never really know the full extent of the damage until you get on scene They did everything they could to try and save his life, but despite their best efforts, were unable to do so.

The beaches that are near to where the attack happened are closed and have been cleared.

A surfer, who arrived at the area right after the incident happened, said:

We came down and we hadn’t got in the water and police were immediately hauling people in. We found out there was a fatal shark attack on the south side of the rock wall. We were going to get in, we’re not going to now for sure.

Official records suggest that this is the 3^rd fatal shark attack that has happened in Australia this year.