Surfer pulls out human head from sea in Australia

A surfer on Friday made a grisly discovery on the Gold Coast in Australia when he pulled out a human head from the sea, sparking a massive search for the missing body, media reported.

The surfer made the discovery while swimming back to his board after riding a wave at the Palm Beach, on the southern Gold Coast, said Gavin Peachey, senior sergeant of the Gold Coast Water Police, according to The Brisbane Times.

"As he's swimming back to his surfboard to recover his surfboard, in the waves he felt something on his leg," Peachey said.

"(He) reached down, grabbed it, pulled it to the surface and it was a human head.

"That's what he believes -- there's nothing to confirm that at the moment.

"He immediately let go of it, obviously got a fright, and swum to the shore."

The surfer reported the find to police at about 6.30 a.m., kicking off a search of the beach and the waters. The surfer described his discovery as a man in his 20s with dark hair.

Police discovered a white shirt and orange hat believed to belong to the missing person on the rocks nearby, but a man has since come forward to claim them.

Peachey said that the search operation would continue until "we're satisfied either the person is found or there wasn't a person there in the first place".

"At this stage, we don't know whether it's simply somebody that has gone missing or whether there's something else involved," he said.

About six jet skis and a boat were involved in the search, which included police and surf lifesavers, Peachey said.

A surf rescue helicopter was scouring the area earlier in the morning and would rejoin the search in the afternoon along with the police helicopter, he said, adding that conditions were "very favourable", but searchers had not seen any sign of the body.

The officer said that the search area would widen as the day progressed to keep pace with the changing tides.

"All we can ask for is if anybody notices that a friend or a family member hasn't made an appointment, or hasn't shown up, if they are the sort of person to have gone for an early morning swim or a late night swim last night, please ring the police," he said.