Shark ‘bigger than a boat’ kills Aussie, 2nd fatal attack in a week

A suspected great white shark is terrorizing the waters off Perth after fatally attacking a diver on Sunday morning. The woman is the second person to be killed in the area in six days after a surfer died after his leg was bitten off by a great white.

Three fishermen involved in aiding the diver described the shark as longer than their 5.3m boat.

Traps have now been set for the predator.

The 60-year-old woman was diving two kilometers off the coast of Mindarie, northern Perth, when the attack happened, according to police. The woman’s diving partner told police he felt "something go past him" in the water before surfacing to see her being attacked.

A fishing crew saw the commotion and positioned their boat between the shark and the diving partner, allowing him to get out of the water. He pulled the diver from the water before she died on the way back to the shore.

A local surfer told ABC that the partner sustained minor injuries on his hand. The pair were regular diving partners and had dived in the area before.

On Friday 29-year-old Ben Gerring died after losing his leg to a suspected great white shark at a beach south of Perth on Tuesday. Scientists who examined bite marks on his surfboard confirmed the shark involved was a great white.

Baited drum lines, used to trap sharks, were deployed in the area where Gerring was attacked. A 4.2m shark was caught on Wednesday in the area but the Department of Fisheries said it was impossible to say if it was the shark involved in the attack.

The latest fatalities come a week after a woman was fatally attacked while swimming by a saltwater crocodile in Queensland. (RT)