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Heartbreaking moment: Rescuers desperately pull Australian shark victim, 59, ashore after dramatic rescue, before realizing their attempts were in vain
Shocking footage has emerged of two lifeguards desperately trying to save the life of an Australian man who was attacked to death by a shark off a New Caledonian beach.
The 59-year-old tourist was swimming near a crowded pontoon about 150 meters offshore at Chateau-Royal beach, south of Nouméa, on Sunday afternoon around 4 p.m. when he was suddenly attacked. .
Two lifeguards on a jet ski raced to recover the man almost immediately after the attack and brought him back to shore for medical attention.
In the video footage, which Daily Mail Australia deemed too graphic to publish, lifeguards could be seen struggling to remove the man from the jet ski after beaching it on shore.
One lifeguard was then seen jumping off the jet ski and running to the nearby Chateau Royal Hotel for help, while the other grabbed the Australian man under the arms and began pulling him across the sand.
Tragic images have emerged of two lifeguards desperately trying to save the life of an Australian man who was mauled by a shark on a New Caledonian beach.
The footage showed lifeguards struggling to bring the victim to shore, with one of them running to a nearby hotel for help.
The lifeguard holding the Australian man lost his balance at one point and fell backwards into the water.
He then tried to pull the tourist up the beach by the arms, but struggled to get him out of the water before another rescuer got to help him.
Once the Australian man, clad in a pair of shorts, was pulled into the sand, first responders frantically performed CPR but were unable to save him.
The attack happened near a pontoon that was a few meters from a jetty where bathers had been jumping.
The 59-year-old Australian tourist had been swimming near a pontoon next to a jetty on Chateau-Royal beach, south of Nouméa, on Sunday afternoon, where he was attacked. A restaurant behind the jetty allows staff and customers to feed fish and sharks.
Patrol members and paramedics desperately performed CPR on the man, but were unable to save him.
The jetty is near a restaurant where guests and staff toss food into the water from a “viewing platform” to feed the fish, which often attracts sharks.
Horrified onlookers said the shark bit the man multiple times on the leg and arms.
Witnesses said a lifeguard rushed out on his jet ski to rescue the man, and a hotel guest who saw the incident surmised he may have been trying to scare off the shark.
The lifeguard then rushed back to shore where a second lifeguard jumped on the back of the ski so they could put the victim’s body together.
Daily Mail Australia understands that the man was an Australian tourist traveling alone.
He had been staying at the nearby Le Meridien hotel but has not yet been identified.
The Chateau Hotel guest said the attack happened very close to the coast.
Police are seen at the scene of the fatal shark attack in Noumea
“The poor victim was face down in the water when the jet ski hit him,” they told Daily Mail Australia.
“There was blood everywhere, we could see it from the beach. So many people were in the water at the same time and they had only reopened the beach a few days ago.
Another Chateau Hotel worker said “something has to be done”, with locals on high alert following three shark attacks in the area in just three weeks.
It is not the first time that a shark attack has occurred on the beach.
On January 29, a local teacher lost her leg to a shark attack in the same body of water.
Less than a week later, a foil surfer was attacked but managed to escape unharmed.
“Many of us had family on the beach and in the sea, so there was a huge panic when it happened,” the guest said.
The Chateau Royal Beach was immediately evacuated and has since been closed and tourists were urged to stay in the hotel pools.
Authorities now plan to cull all tiger sharks and bull sharks in the area.
The beach can be seen just two days before the attack, with dozens of bathers enjoying the crystal clear waters