Beaches on the Gold Coast are closed after a surfer died in a shark attack, the first such fatality in the area in 60 years.
The 46-year-old man, named by media outlets as Nick Slater, from nearby Miami, was dragged from the water by fellow surfers and lifeguards at Greenmount Beach at Coolangatta on Tuesday evening.
He suffered serious leg injuries after reportedly being bitten from the hip down and was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene minutes after they arrived.
The attack has taken locals by surprise because Greenmount Beach has drum lines and is one of several on the Gold Coast with shark nets in place.
Queensland Ambulance Supervisor William Houghton said the victim was surfing with mates, one of whom witnessed the attack.
"It was a pretty traumatic event for everybody concerned," he said.
A Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter was circling in the area after first light on Wednesday looking for sharks.
Beaches from Burleigh to Snapper Rocks have been closed for the day and lifeguards are patrolling the waters on jet skis.
It's the first fatal shark attack at a Gold Coast beach since 1958.
It's also the second fatal shark attack in Queensland in little more than two months after 36-year-old Matthew Tratt died while spearfishing off Fraser Island in early July.
In June, Gold Coast surfer Rob Pedretti, 60, died after he was mauled by a three-metre white shark at Salt Beach at South Kingscliff in northern NSW.
