AUSTRALIA has seen 21 horror shark attack this year, including the fatal mauling of a Brit swimming in the sea this weekend.
Paul Millachip, 57, was taking a dip at Port Beach in Fremantle, Western Australia, when he was dragged underwater by a 14ft great white as his horrified family watched from the shore.
The dad had been out enjoying his regular morning swim when he was attacked about 50 yards off shore.
Mr Millachip was a regular at the beach, and his two adult children were also there at the time of the attack.
There have been three fatal shark attacks in Australia this year, with the other two taking place in New South Wales.
Across the globe, there have been 74 shark attacks this year, with eight people dying.
A pair of Mr Millachip’s goggles was the only thing found after the attack by a “mammoth” great white on Saturday.
One witness said he could only watch in horror as the dad was dragged under the surface.
His wife, Thirl Millachip, described he partner of 35 years as a “wonderful man” and “a wonderful father”.
Also killed this year was Mark Sanguinetti, 59, from Sydney, who was fatally bitten on his upper right thigh while out in the water with his three pals.
He heroically tried to alert his friends to the danger before he was attacked.
Sanguinetti’s final moments were seen by one witness, Daryl, who described what happened on Tuesday morning.
“The shark came out of the water, just smashed him, five seconds later he came round and hit him again,” the horrified witness told 7News.
An unnamed man in his 20 was also mauled to death by what was believed to be a great white shark at Emerald Beach in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, in September.
Horrified onlookers told of the grisly scenes as the man’s arm appeared to have been torn off in the savage shark attack.
“I was out in the surf and I heard screaming,” one witness told the Daily Telegraph Australia.
“I paddled further out to the water and saw a man without an arm, there was lots of blood.
“He was shouting ‘help me’ – people were trying to get him out to the shore.”
Last year saw eight people killed by sharks as Australia has recorded its highest figures for fatal attacks for almost 100 years.
Scientists have speculated shifting hunting grounds, the weather, staycations and overfishing allmay have played a role in the spike.
Eight men – aged between 17 and 60 – were killed by sharks while in the water off the coast of Australia in 2020.
