Granites Beach, South Australia, shark attack: Witness tells how victim was seen disappearing beneath the surf

A holidaymaker has recalled the horrific moment a huge shark sank its teeth into a surfer and tore his body to shreds.

Ian Brophy, 70, from Angourie, on the NSW north coast, was about to get into the water with his friend to go surfing before he witnessed the horrific incident just meters away.

Witness Jeff Schmucker drove his jet ski into the water at Granite Beach after a surfer was mauled by a shark

The 55-year-old surfer was mauled to death by a Great White near Granite Beach, south of Streaky Bay, South Australia, at around 10.20am on Tuesday.

“When I turned around I saw the shark go away and just launch and bite… over the top of the guy and bite and drag him under the water and then nothing for a minute or two and blood everywhere and then the sign pops up,” Mr. Brophy told it The advertiser.

“That’s it, it was this man being torn apart. I saw him in the wave and the shark had his body in his mouth. It was quite horrific.”

Mr Brophy said the surfboard was the only thing spared in the fatal attack and said he saw the man in the shark’s mouth.

“Sixty years of surfing and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Mr Brophy said.

Fellow surfer Jeff Schmucker had earlier rushed to the scene and said he had spoken to one of the dozens of people in the water who had seen the horror happen.

“It attacked him from the side. He went underwater once, came back up and went underwater again, and that was the last the boy saw of him,” Mr. Schmucker said. 7News.

Mr Schmucker later took his jet ski into the surf to try to find the victim, but then found himself close to a four-metre shark which he believed was the killer.

The only remains he found were the victim’s surfboard with a huge bite mark in it, with Mr Schmucker describing the shark as a ‘f**king monster’.

A surfer was mauled to death by a giant 4.2 meter shark on a remote beach, witnesses have revealed (pictured shows a shark seen in the area shortly afterwards)

Police responded immediately and launched a search operation after the attack with the assistance of Police Water Operations, PolAir, State Emergency Service and local volunteers.

The surfer has not yet been found.

Located 700km northwest of Adelaide, Streaky Bay is a popular coastal tourist town with nearby attractions including the Smooth Pool and High Cliffs.

The area is also known for its large population of white sharks, with a recognized breeding site just along the coast of Streaky Bay in Elliston.

Emergency services have been seen at Granites Beach following the shark attack on Tuesday morning

Tuesday’s attack was the second in the region in recent weeks, after South Australian woman Pamela Cook was mauled by a shark near Beachport on October 2.

The 64-year-old was swimming with local community group Beachport Sea Urchins and Slugs when she was attacked shortly before 8am.

She was bitten on the leg and flown to Mount Gambier Hospital in a stable condition.

Several months earlier in May, 46-year-old Elliston man Simon Baccanello was killed in a shark attack at Walkers Rocks Beach.

The teacher was mauled about 30 to 50 yards offshore.