Surfer loses arm, other hand in shark attack

Sydney Oct 2 (IANS/EFE) A 23-year-old surfer lost one of his arms and his other hand in a shark attack Thursday at a beach near Esperance in Western Australia, official sources reported.

The youth was attacked in the waters off the Wylie Bay beach and was immediately rushed to hospital in the city of Esperance, from where he was taken to another hospital in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, the ABC channel reported.

Following the attack, authorities deployed two baited drum lines in the water off the beach and trapped a white shark which could well be the aggressor.

In September, Australia's Environment Protection Authority rejected a programme to capture and kill sharks bigger than three metres, which was enforced in Western Australia for a trial period to protect people against increasing attacks.

The programme was severely cricised by many scientists and ecologists.

--IANS/EFE

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