Shark kills teenage body boarder off Australia
SYDNEY -- A shark killed a teenager off Australia's east coast Saturday in the nation's second deadly attack this month, police said.
Zach Young, 19, was body boarding with three friends about 330 feet offshore at Riecks Point, near the northern New South Wales city of Coffs Harbour, when he was bitten on the legs, New South Wales police said in a statement.
Young's friends got him back to the
beach, and bystanders tried in vain to save him before paramedics arrived, a
New South Wales ambulance police spokeswoman said. Young had serious injuries
to his legs and suffered cardiac arrest. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him,
but he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Beaches in the area were closed for 24
hours. There was no information immediately available on the type of shark involved.
Although sharks are common along Australia's coastlines, fatal attacks are relatively rare. The country has averaged just more than one fatal attack per year over the past 50 years.