POLICE have confirmed a man in his 20s has died after a shark attack at Gracetown on Saturday morning.
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The attack happened at a surf break called Umbilical's, next to Lefthanders.
The man's name has not yet been released but it is believed he is a Margaret River local.
A helicopter was used to remove the deceased man from the beach, due to the terrain in the area.
Police received a call from a bystander at 9.17am, reporting a man had been attacked by a shark at the popular South-West holiday spot.
At 10.30am police spokesman Sam Dinnison confirmed that one man is deceased and that police were working to determine the exact cause of death.
A bystander at the beach carpark told the Mail the attack happened at "Umbies" surf break and only two surfers were out there at the time.
Bystander Tom Jones said he was surfing further right of Umbies and had been warned by others to get out. He said there were about 30 surfers overall in the area but only two out at Umbies.
“I was in the water and someone came out and said there was an ambulance and police, so we all decided to get out,” he said.
Another surfer said he couldn’t believe how long it took for the other surfers to be notified of the danger.
A young man from Perth said he pulled the shark attack victim from the water soon after it happened. He was shaken from the incident and said he would withhold further comments until the victim’s family has been contacted.
This is the third shark attack on WA’s coastline in three months, and the first fatal attack since July 2012.
Father-of-two Nick Edwards, 31, died in August 2010 after being attacked by a shark at nearby South Point in Gracetown.
The Augusta Margaret River Shire and Department of Fisheries have closed local beaches including from Umbies, to South Point and onto Huzzas, North Point and the main Gracetown beach. Beaches will remain closed for 24 hours.
The shire requests all shark sightings and attacks are reported directly to the Water Police on 9442 8600.