Popular beach closed after huge shark kills swimmer

A shark said to have been up to 14ft long killed a swimmer near a popular New Zealand beach yesterday, then disappeared after police attempting to save the man fired at the predator.

Muriwai Beach near Auckland was closed after the fatal attack, one of only about a dozen in New Zealand in the past 180 years.

Pio Mose, who was fishing at the beach, told the New Zealand Herald he saw the swimmer struggle against the “huge” shark. He told the man to swim to the rocks, but it was too late. “All of a sudden there was blood everywhere,” Mr Mose said. “I was shaking, scared, panicked.”

Police inspector Shawn Rutene said the swimmer, in his 40s, was about 200 meters offshore when the shark attacked.

He said police went out in inflatable boats and shot at the shark, which they estimated was 12 to 14ft long .“It rolled over and disappeared,” he said.– (AP)