A woman watched in horror as her father was attacked and killed by a shark in Tasmania on the weekend.
The woman, in her 20s, was diving for scallops with her father, in his late 40s, between Lachlan Island and Maria Island off Tasmania’s east coast on Saturday morning.
The daughter returned to their dinghy at around 8am but when her father didn’t follow, she dived back down to check on him.
“[She] saw a very large shark and she saw her father being attacked by the shark,” Inspector David Wiss from Tasmania Police said.
“She immediately returned to the surface where she raised the alarm through setting off a flare and also by making an emergency phone call.”
Nearby fisherman responded to the call for aid and immediately launched a rescue effort but the man was too badly injured.
“Boaters attended the area and they pulled up a male using the air hose he was attached to but unfortunately he was fatally injured,” Inspector Wiss said.
“This is a deeply traumatic incident for the daughter.”
The last fatal shark attack in Tasmania occurred 22 years ago.
