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A 33-year-old scuba diver died Saturday in a shark attack off the coast of Western Australia, local media reported.
The man was diving with his brother around one nautical mile offshore near Busselton, which is 125 miles southwest of Perth, WAtoday reported.
WAtoday named the victim as local businessman Peter Kurmann.
Kurmann's brother Gian reportedly told officials that he had seen a 13-foot-long "shark-like" shape in the water.
Police said that all beaches in the area had been closed and that the department of fisheries had launched an investigation, Sky News Australia reported.
The attack occurred at 9:30 a.m. local time Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET Friday). It was not clear what species of shark was involved.
Local media said it was the fourth fatal shark attack off the Western Australia coast since September of last year.
WAtoday said Kurmann leaves behind a wife and two sons, aged two and four.
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Uhhh...MrJavinbrrr, what the hell are you ranting about?! Settle down and make sure that your comments are in alignment with the stories in which you post the comment under...please.
MRjavinnnburrr banned, rereg of spammer MRjimvinburr.
2 deleted, Barabas taking the bait and flaming them. Don't. You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
When will the public learn that the surrounding water ways around Australia and Capetown, South Africa, belong to Jaws and his Shark buddies, the Great Whites.
Any diver in the water, will appear to look like a Seal- meal to a Great White.
Don't blame the sharks, 1,000 die every day. They're joining the same doomed route as most species of whales.
Surf's Up!
Tampa, Fl
Evening George..We are very aware of what lurks in our waters here in Australia..I don't blame the sharks and you will find the vast majourity of Australians think the same....It is their territory and their "hunting grounds" but you will never stop us swimming in the sea. As I said you need to be on your guard...but at times even that fails. When I am in the sea, I then become the prey. I live on the Southern coast of Australia and have no problems with what lives in it....
"Shark kills scuba diver" is not news. Wake me up when the headline is "Scuba diver kills shark".
I am sure shona1 will acknowledge this that Great White's traditionally "strike" (prefer that word over attack) human's whilst they are on the surface mistakenly identifying them as natural prey. Other species "attack" divers/swimmers such as Bull Sharks, Longimanus, Tigers, Hammerheads etc. The GWS has an undeserved reputation. I'm betting it was not a GWS which attacked this scuba diver but CAUTION....with ever diminishing numbers of sea creatures due to man's actions we will likely see more starving predators in the ocean and to a hungry animal even humans are an alternate food source.
he should have bought a lotto ticket instead ................. RIP
George we all know what species lurk in the ocean. What should we do sit home and not live our lives? I'd rather live like a lion and take my chances than live like a lamb and wonder what could have bern. You sit home and worty. Thats not for me.
This article doesn't give enough info to determine if the diver was bitten and died as a result, or if he was attacked and eaten or dragged off. Great Whites historically don't bite and eat humans. They bite and spit out and go back to looking for a tasty seal. Oceanic White Tips? Tigers? Great Hammerheads? There are a few other species that are known to be aggressive and not as selective in their dining habits. Hard way to go, for sure. Divers understand the risk they take every time they fall in.
Not entirely true, George. I teach diving as a hobby (NAUI, PADI) and have done more shark dives (no cages) than I can recall. Divers appear as seals from the surface, but not so much under the water unless visibility is a factor. The diver may have been bleeding and not known it, or blood in the water nearby. This is the cause of the 'vast' majority of beneath-the-surface shark attacks. Also, he may have been provoking the shark in some way. In twenty years, I've never seen a shark, even a GW, attack without one of these factors being in place. Beneath the surface, sharks are curious but rarely vicious. Of course, there are always exceptions, but the 'diver=seal' is more of a surface issue -- and yeah, it's a biggie.
What's disconcerting is 'why' sharks are attacking more frequently over the past several years. There are several theories, none of which Rick Santorum would enjoy hearing... : )
I wonder if he was spear-fishing?
Then NJCYN..you live by the sword..you die by one!!!!!!!!!!!
Live like the lion..and you too..shall become some other predators..lunch!! Just like the Aussie!!
Me, I live good..but cautiously. God gave you a brain..Use it!!! Why live dangerously.when you can live rationally..just as well.
See you on the barbie mate..after yer leg has been made mince meat by some predator!!!!!!!!!!
Guess in-ground swimming pools hold no Aussie favors?
NJCYN: I hate to break this to you, but lions do the eating.
I think you've got the casting list upside down or something. In the ocean, you are playing the role of the lamb. Get on a phone. Call your agent. There's been a misunderstanding.
How about scuba diver and shark live peacefully in New York Apartment? It would be newsworthy especially if one of them was very neat, and the other very messy.
This guy never heard of a "BANG STICK"? You'd have to have LESS than half a brain to go diving in those waters without one. My best to his surviving wife and kids. Next time don't go unprepared. Expect the UNexpected.
You assume he even saw the shark prior to attack, he may have had the bang stick but was unable to use it. I don't know as the article was relatively short and didn't include a inventory of the diver's equipment. It is amazing how some people without much actual knowledge of the incident make all kinds of assumptions.
I wish his family the grace of God for their loss. To leave behind a wife and two young children is indeed heartbreaking. I hope this shark is brought to justice, or at least contained some place where this can't happen again. If anything, we should send Matt Hooper and Martin Brody after it.
Evening Wishful...No you leave the shark well alone...You respect what they are and what they do, and unfortunately if someone becomes a victim, there is not a lot you can do. Yes I feel very much for the family but there are risks in many things we do, and this happens to be one.
But with all this overblown media coverage, how will it ever get a fair trial? It'll be hard enough putting together a jury of its peers.
Why would he do that? He could have prevented it if he had wanted to. Obviously he didn't want to.
My condolences to the family, but god has nothing to do with it.
flbikerchick,
"It'll be hard enough putting together a jury of its peers."
At least a jury box full of sharks should minimize the possibility of jury tampering. :)
Justice for Peter!
Just because we wear wetsuits that make us look like their favorite food does not mean that these sharks can keep on eating us.
No justice, no beach!!!!
Sharks shouldn't be allowed to favor seals - it only perpetuates bigotry.
The sharks won't be in the jury box, they'll be in the expensive suits arguing the case in front of the judge.
Tasted like peanut butter. If it was up to liberals we'd all be in cocoons strapped to warehouse ceilings. Such deprived pitiful beings liberals are. Not to experience life outside your path to work and back.
You're absolutely right!! . . . the Australians will just have to slap the shark on the fin and put it in "time out" (in the "shark timeout" area of the ocean) until it learns that it cannot live in its OWN home and be attacking human beings who just love to swim where it lives and hunts for food . . . I sincerely hope this was meant in jest, because if it wasn't, you need some immediate psychiatric help . . . seriously!
Clearly you're joking Mr. J. Jones...at least I hope so since your post makes absolutely no sense. What does anything you say have to do with diving or sharks??? As a proud liberal I can assure you that you apparently have never actually met one of our species! I've been traveling the world for 40 years while my conservative countrymen appear to rarely leave their small towns & their small minds & don't want to learn anything about the larger world they live in. Guess in my view, the pitiful beings are those loonies with tea bags on their heads.
Dee, you clearly have not met your own species. Get on a thread about bear attacks, hunting, the right to roam our own parks, sport fishing, as can be seen in this story, scuba diving, skiing, etc. Guess who is adamant they all have no right to be doing any of that? Someone needs to be slapping those folks upside their heads with teabags. What all liberals fail to admit, tea was the founding cry of our country's personal rights. And what these folks are crying for again. Only a liberal could take something that our country was founded on and try and make it a dirty word. The loonies Dee, happen to be those that try and proclaim that the way to enlightenment is to take away those freedoms and do everything their way. Guess what Dee. There are folks in this country that will not listen to a word you spew. I'm one of them and proud of it. Back at you.
Dee, Mr. J, Jones,
Pot, meet Kettle.
Jon Jones,
So America was founded on tea? New one on me, but what can one expect from a right wingnut repukian?
@5.8 I thought liberals didn't have jobs and were all on welfare. So much for your reactionary propaganda.
o'really, meet mr. if I just don't do or say anything, everything will be ok. Bury your head often do ya.
SingBiker...I rest my case.
Actually I agree with you, Jon. I just love it when someone lectures someone else about being closed minded, and then sums up their argument by showing just how closed minded they are themselves.
I've got a hunch that the reason Dee doesn't meet any conservatives on her trips around the world is because they steer clear of her, I know I would.
Jon, give it a rest. Nobody is suggesting divers shouldn't dive, you blubbering tool.
Jon, how did this turn political? Maybe the diver punched the shark, bashing his his head on the pavement. Was the sharks nose broken? On the serious side, I wish the best for the man's wife and kids.
You know, people who can't see past their partisanship are just pathetic.
"If it was up to liberals we'd all be in cocoons strapped to warehouse ceilings"~jon jones
So far, most of public statements I've heard from the Jon Jones on this, or almost any other subject, have all the intellectual honesty of an elementary school playground taunt.
Shocking thing for his brother to see, but unfortunately these things happen when sloshing around in the water. We are aware of the dangers and then there will be the hysterical out cry "hunt down the shark"..The authorities as always will go through the motions to appease them will not be able to find it and then all will return to as it was...Feel so sorry for his family especially, his wife and young children....So anyone that goes into the water should always be on their guard, it could save your life, but unfortunately even that at times does not help....
That isn't how Australians feel, Shona1, nor do they go through any motions to appease anyone. Your presumption is foolish. There are more venomous creatures in and around Australia than any other continent. Australians live with these dangerous animals every day. A spider-bite can kill or maim or parylise. They embrace life as we do not.
No, thats more the american way of dealing with situations like this. Kill the shark, make people think its safe to go in the water again. In the u.s. There is no such thing as personal responsability. Someone else has to be held accountable for our actions. In this case the shark. Nothing is ever our fault.
Peridot....I LIVE in Australia and yes we just "appeased" the people with the last 3 shark attacks in WA...We send out the boats to track down the sharks and surprise, surprise it is we did not find it!! We all know they will never find it, how can they..but they go thru the emotions. Yes we embrace life very much, always have and always will and by the looks of your comments far more than you do...so the only person looking "foolish" here is yourself...Our spiders don't paralyse you by the way, they kill you or you survive, there is no inbetween.
Let's see. Black rubber suit makes scuba diver look like a seal, a favorite food of the great white shark. How about a bright lime green suit? Yet, I'm surprised the shark couldn't distinguish the smells of seal and human. Anyway, should have protection when diving into the man-eating shark waters down under!
Not quite sure how that is going to work when snorkelling, surfing, swimming, boggey boarding and any other water sports that we and you do...rather impractical I would say.
@ John..I didn't know Trojans were shark proof.
Shark gotta eat. The victim probably looked like a seal in his wetsuit. Why is this news? You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be killed by a shark. Must be a slow news day.
All shark incidents are reported as front page news. What are you, 12 years old?
I'm convinced those odds you always hear about don't take into account the millions of people worldwide who don't go in the water. Everyone has a chance at getting hit by lightning if you walk outside in a storm (sometimes even if you don't!); only beachgoers have an opportunity at a shark attack. Remember your Mark Twain when numbers are thrown at you.
@Peridot - You ask if I am 12 years old? Why, are you a pedophile?
Tastes great...less filling.
Mmmm, soft on the outside & crunchie in the middle!
All scuba suits should be another color other than "SEAL " !!
We've no idea whether he was wearing a wetsuit or what colour it was. It's summer in Australia, genius.
Sharks detect by vibration of the water. Essentially most sharks have very poor eyesight.
Color has absolutely nothing to do with it . . . disturbances and shapes are what the shark sort of sees (bad eyesight) . . . unfortunately we look alot like a nice plump meal to them. However it should be pointed out that most sharks that attack humans generally "taste" them first and spit them out -- sharks don't actually like the taste of us, especially if we are wearing wetsuits . . . the Great White is another story altogether. It doesn't care and is indiscriminate about what it will eat.
Fagan Tanya you are simply wrong. Not only do sharks see well they also can see in color. Add that to the fact that sharks possess a fifth sense that enables them to track an object through its electrical field. They can have a problem when they are beneath their "prey" looking toward the general direction of the sun but the potentional victim can not see them either.
Most attacks are because the shark is trying to figure out what it is that is out with them. They want to find out and the only way they can tell is by biting them. Most sharks bite once and them leave. They find that humans taste bad and decide to leave. For what it is worth if you tasted good they would probably come back.
Ya gotta love Shark Week fans...
flbikerchick,
If you like shark week ..................you'll just love the Republican National convention
Just wondering, what are they going to investigate?
His fatal wounds.
Whether the shark acted in self defense.
They will do a thorough investigation to ascertain whether or not this shark grew up in a bad neighborhood or came from a dysfunctional home . . . its parents and siblings will be under close scrutiny as well . . . many sharks come from broken homes and perhaps that is why they lash out and kill people from time to time . . . it's only natural . . . they're alot like us.
Good one, PT.
Diver killed by shark in Australia, man burned to death in center of volcano, old lady cheated out of money at Republican conference, no one is surprised.
OUCH!!
Sharks attack people in the water because the sound of our swimming mimics a distressed sea animal. As my son says "On land we are at the top of the food chain, but when we enter the seas we are at the bottom of the food chain." I feel for the families loss but when we enter an area we are not in charge of then things like this do happen. The shark was doing what came natural to him. Essentially sharks don't define color with their eyesight. They respond to vibrations in the water.
This is one of the reasons that I think that lake diving would be fun, and some protected salt water areas like a coral reefs with sharks having very limited access to would be fun.
Diving offshore would scare me.
We just need to get rid of all the sharks in the oceans. They are too dangerous to humans who want to enjoy the water.
The health of the creatures in the ocean tell us of the health of the ocean itself. Those of us who dive know quite well of the perils, and shark bite is not the top one. We enter their world to experience the wonders of it. The depletion of sharks upsets a natural balance that adversely affects the ocean.
Honestly, I can't believe you actually said that . . . it could only be coming from a place of utter ignorance. But if you can post a reply then you can read . . . grab yourself a few books on sharks and their habits and open your closed eyes for a change . . . I almost believed the post was coming from Sarah Palin. Sounded alot like something she'd say.
I think Big Al intended sarcasm PTByrd
Hey Big Al1693063'
We could feed them attorneys until they're full and then go out.
Umm...not when divers are below the surface. Scuba divers make different sounds in the water and sharks approach because they're curious. Curious animals investigate by biting when all they have are mouths and teeth. If they bite the wrong spot, fatality ensues. Subsurface attacks are very different from surface attacks, Fagan Tanya.
Shark species have different degrees of colour sensitivity. Some have rods and cones in their eyes.
We don't know enough about this gentleman's wounds to surmise what happened as yet, nor do we know how deep they were when the attack occurred. We need to wait and learn. The investigation will tell us more.
I'm sorry for his loss.
It's interesting that so many people around the world have this ambivalence about diving, swimming, and surfing with no protection in waters known to be filled with man-eating sharks . None would go jogging across the Serengeti if you KNEW man-eating lions were waiting to pounce around any given batch of brush. You wouldn't hike across the arctic landscape without major fire power in the presence of polar bears KNOWN to be hiding behind any potential rock - but we do that in the ocean where we are even more out of our element and absolutely defenseless. Strange, the power of rationalization. I understand there is risk, more people hit by lightning, planes crashing,etc, etc...but it's the relatively rare case where you KNOW you are turning yourself in to defenseless bait. Event the term "taken by a shark" is an interesting deflection of the truth. You are EATEN by the shark, not kidnapped or assaulted.
Mike, you are so on target. My husband and I desire to go to the Amazon forest, but are leary, even with a trained guide, because of the jaguars and big reptiles. Once you are in animal territory, you are at risk of being attacked. The animals are in existence because God wanted them to be.
Must be nice to afford a trip like that heh heh. I'm one of the working poor who has paid his home off and am retired now, cannot even afford a lotto ticket LOL. At least the shark got fed heh heh
A trip like what? Loading up the car and driving a few blocks to the beach? He was a local Australian, not a tourist.
As a diver, I well understand the risks I take when I gear up. Shark bite isn't the top one. There are few details on the attack--did it occur at the bottom (very rare) or while on the surface swim back to the boat (mistaken for natural prey?) You Aussie divers have my respect in diving with whites. I'll stick to my reef and bull and lemons. Our sharks are starting to learn to eat lionfish and are helping to establish a balance again in our reef populations. Sharks have an important place in keeping the oceans healthy. Healthy oceans are essential in the survival of the planet. We don't ban flying because of a rare crash or winter driving because of the chance of an accident. I understand the risks of my choices and accept the consequences. The shark is not to blame for being a shark!
"Bail Chief! Bail!" -Quint, "Jaws"
You in the water, shark in the water!
My condolences to his family. Sad
I bought a nice big book of colorful photos of the Great Barrier Reef. I keep it in the bathroom and I look at the pretty pictures in relative safety while I sit on the throne doing my business. Sometimes I wear my mask, snorkel and fins for a more realistic experience. I have not been attacked by a shark or even seen one. Hey people, stay out of the ocean, once you enter, you are on the menu.
TMI
Thoughts and prayer with the family. Anytime you go into the ocean or the woods, you are in the animal's territory. There are inherent dangers involved and those who scuba dive, hunt, hike, or swim should be aware of these. I feel for his family, though.
Sharks got to eat too!
I wonder if Spike Lee will tweet the sharks address.