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Diver, Brian Guest, 51 is believed to have been killed by a Great White Shark as he swam on the weekend of December 20th 2008 with his son at a beach south of Perth. Witnesses reported seeing a dorsal fin and thrashing in the water before the sea turned red and the man vanished at the scene on the Australia west coast.
The Father-of three, who had been an active campaigner for the protection of sharks, had been looking for crabs on yesterday morning with his 24-year-old son when he was attacked about 30 metres from the shore.
Luke Tubbs told how a witness ran to his house in shock and screaming for help: "He just saw a big splash and then the shark roll over in the water with the guy and then [he saw] no body or anything." Brian Guest's son, Daniel Guest, had been swimming only six metres away from his father at the Port Kennedy beach. Daniel was unaware of the attack until hearing his father's screams and seeing blood fill the water, he raced to shore. Only his father's shredded wetsuit was recovered later, with no sign of the body. Aerial searches were carried out and spotted a five-metre Great White Shark swimming in the area. Only hours later, in Sydney a kayaker survived a terrifying ordeal when he was knocked from his craft by a Great White Shark. The encouter occured at Long Reef, less than one mile off Australia's east coast and was filmed by a nearby fisherman, after knocking Steve Kulcsar from his Kayak, shown below. Great White Shark circling a kayak, Long Reef, Australia Kulcsar said: "I knew it was there, but my first thought was to just get back in the kayak as quick as possible." The shark continued to circle for another ten minutes, before finally losing interest and swimming away. The two great white encounters sparked panic and closed a number of beaches across Australia, including Bondi beach which was closed after a shark was spotted close to the shore. Swimmers were also evacuated from a Queensland holiday island after sharks were spotted in waist-deep water. During an aerial search on the West Australian coastline for Guest's body, sharks were spotted, forcing the closure of two more beaches. Sea goers must realise, however there are only an average there are 15 shark attacks a year in Australia, with about one death each year. Swimmers are more likely to die of a lightning strike than be taken by a great white shark. Yesterday Daniel Guest recalled how his father had spoken of the risks of sharks and how he had "loved and respected the ocean environment". Brian Guest wrote on the Western Angler website forum in 2004: "I have always had an understanding with my wife that if a shark or ocean accident caused my death then so be it, at least it was doing what I wanted. Every surfer, fisherman and diver has far more chance of being killed by bees, drunk drivers, teenage car thieves and lightning. Every death is a tragedy – regardless of the cause – but we have no greater claim to use of this earth than any of the other creatures [we] share it with." His son said he viewed his father's death as a random event that should not make people fear the water, and said he would eventually go back into the sea. "When I'm ready … I'll do that." |
