A 40-year-old man has died after being attacked by a shark on the edge of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, local police said.
Luke Walford, a youth pastor, had been spearfishing with his family when he was bitten Saturday afternoon.
He suffered “life-threatening injuries” and died at the scene about an hour later despite the efforts of paramedics, authorities said.
He and his family were in the waters of Humpy Island in the Keppel Bay Islands National Park on the Great Barrier Reef at the time of the attack. The area is a popular spot for diving and snorkeling.
Walford was a school chaplain and pastor at the Cathedral of Praise church in Rockhampton, Queensland.
Donna Kirkland, his local MP, said she was in shock and Walford was a friend of her and “countless others”.
“My prayers and sincere condolences go out to his wonderful family and indeed to the many who will be as devastated as I am at this news,” she added.
A family friend told ABC News he watched the rescue helicopter fly over his house, not knowing it was for his friend.
“I always pay a little tribute to whoever it was, but finding out it was Luke was a very sad day,” Doug Webber said.
Queensland Police said a report was being prepared for the coroner.
The last fatal shark attack in Australia occurred in December 2023 A teenager was killed in the south.
There have been four other shark incidents in Australia this year alone, according to a local database.
In general, Australia has more shark attacks than any other country except the United States.
