A shark killed a man in Australia by tearing off his legs on Monday - the second attack in as many days.
The 41-year-old Japanese citizen was surfing off the east coast of Australia sitting on his board waiting for the next wave when a shark came up behind him and chomped down on the back of the board and the man's legs, Ballina's mayor David Wright said, according to USA Today.
Friends of the wounded surfer rushed the man to the shore of the New South Wales town and began using tourniquets and CPR. "But because both legs were gone, he bled to death very quickly," Wright said, according to USA Today.
The deceased's name has not been released, but he was living in the area of Shelly Beach, where the attack occurred, and working at a surf shop and cleaning hotels.
On Sunday, 35-year-old Jabez Reitman was attacked by a shark just 12 miles north of Ballina, at Seven Mile Beach, according to USA Today.
"I just freaked out," Reitman told reporters on Sunday. "I thought it was a dolphin at first until I started feeling and realized it was pretty significant lacerations."
"I should've stayed in bed," he added, ruing his decision to surf instead.
Reitman's condition is stable, USA Today reported.
Wright suspects both attacks are linked, but the locals are coping calmly. "It's just an accident," he said.
A 50-year-old swimmer was killed by a shark at Byron Bay in September 2014.
Sharks are common off Australia's shoreline, but fatal attacks are not as common. The average number of fatalities from shark attacks per year is two.
