Surfer Missing in South Australia After Shark Attack

On Thursday evening, a surfer was attacked by a shark on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The unidentified victim was surfing Granites when the attack occurred around 7:00pm local time. Following the incident, emergency crews issued a search for the surfer, though at the time of publish, they have yet to find anything. The search is scheduled to continue early on Friday morning.

It's not the first time something similar has happened in this region – not even close.

There’s been a string of surfers attacked by sharks in South Australia in recent months and years. Back in May of 2023, a local, 46-year-old school teacher was killed while surfing Walkers Beach. “The only thing that was recovered was a surfboard,” a State Emergency Service member told 7NEWS Australia, regarding that incident. “It’s absolutely tragic for this small community.”

Then, at the end of 2023, 15-year-old up-and-coming surfer Khai Cowley was mauled by a 4m (13 foot) great white shark, some 30 to 40m offshore at Ethel Beach. His body was recovered on the beach. Following the tragedy, a statement from Surfing South Australia said:

“Khai was very involved in our surfing community with his passion for surfing stemming from a family with deep surfing roots in SA. He was a happy, kind and respectful kid, very much loved by his surfing peers and he will be greatly missed out in our community and on the water.”

Shortly after Khai’s passing, a 64-year-old man was attacked while also surfing on the Eyre Peninsula. He survived the encounter, bleeding profusely, swam himself to shore, climbed up some rocks, and drove himself to the hospital…despite the serious bite marks to his surfboard, which suggest the incident could’ve been much worse.

Why so many attacks? Shark expert Andrew Fox told Sky News: