Bodyboarder dies in brutal shark attack

A YOUNG bodyboarder has died after being mauled by a shark near Coffs Harbour yesterday afternoon.

Swimmers pulled Port Macquarie local Zac Young, 19, from the water just before 2pm yesterday before attempting CPR while waiting for ambulance crews.

Mr Young had been bodyboarding with four close friends about 100m offshore when the shark attacked. It is understood both legs were severely injured in the attack.

Mr Young’s friends, including Kurt Gillan and Shayden Schrader, pulled him from the water before performing CPR as they awaited help to arrive. An ambulance spokeswoman said young died at the scene from a cardiac arrest.

‘‘The swimmers pulled him out of the water but he died of a cardiac arrest,’’ she said.

The close-knit bodyboarding community of the midnorth coast was in mourning as word spread of the death of the well-liked surfer.

The Port Macquarie Bodyboard Association Facebook page was flooded with tributes from the fellow surfers and friends. Mr Young, who had been undertaking an internship at nonprofit group Youth for Christ, had only been celebrating his driver’s licence ahead of the summer holidays.

Mr Young had been bodyboarding at a surf break known at Reicks Point at Sapphire Beach.

The area is home to a break known as The Well, which is characterised by its short, slab- like left- handers. The break is popular among bodyboarders, drawing riders from up and down the coast. It is next to a deep channel that attracts schools of jewfish and sharks pursuing them.

One local surfer said there had been talk of a large shark ‘‘cruising the beach’’.

A police source said surfers had seen ‘‘something’’ in the water earlier but had decided it was nothing.

All beaches in the Coffs Harbour area were closed.