Australian surfer killed by shark named

An Australian surfer whose leg was "torn to shreds" by a great white shark has been named.

Published: 11:27AM BST 17 Aug 2010



Nicholas Edwards, a 31-year-old father-of-two from Busselton, south of Perth, went into cardiac arrest following the attack on a west Australian beach close to the popular tourist region of Margaret River.

Other surfers came to his aid in an attempt to massage his heart while waiting for an ambulance, but he was declared dead shortly after arriving at hospital.

Witnesses told the West Australian newspaper that the shark was "massive" and had bitten his surfboard in half, indicating that it was a great white.

Bob Alder, a local resident, who applied CPR to Edwards, told Perth Now: "We ran down and found him on the rocks.

"We pulled him up on the shore and gave him CPR.

"He was unconscious and as white as a sheet but we got some colour back into him".

Eddie Kilgallon, another surfer, said he and others wrapped a jumped round Edwards' legs.

"I was holding what was left of his leg together. The bottom half of his thigh was exposed and ripped open. Half of his calf musicle was also torn to shreds", he said.

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare.

In December 2008, a snorkeller died after being attacked by a large shark off the Western Australia coast.

In 2004 surfer Brad Smith died after being attacked by a great white at a beach called Lefthanders, also in Gracetown.

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7949820/Australian-surfer-killed-by-shark-named.html