Shark kills spearfisher in front of friends: "Terrifying thing to see"
A spearfisher was killed on the Great Barrier Reef on Sunday in Australia's second fatal shark attack in just over a week, police said.
Updated on: May 24, 2026 / 2:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP
The 39-year-old man was with three friends diving from a boat at Kennedy Shoal off the Queensland state coast south of Cairns when he was attacked, Police Inspector Elaine Burns said.
"The man had been spearfishing when he was attacked and died from a critical head injury," Burns told reporters.
Police said the man who pulled the victim from the water was "pretty close" to the incident and witnessed the attack, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported . people were on board the boat
"I would assume they would be pretty traumatized, that's quite a terrifying thing to see happen right in front of you," Burns said .