A Western Australian surfer thought he had just seconds to live when he saw a four-metre Great White shark attack his mate in front of his eyes in the open ocean south of Bunbury.
Miles Redfern had been out for a surf in Bunker Bay on Friday, about 20 metres behind his friend Phil Mummert, when the predator attacked Mummert and bit a chunk off his leg.
"I was terrified," Mr Redfern told 9News.
"We all hear stories about how big they are, but seeing them first-hand was next level."
Mr Redfern said the shark immediately turned towards him after attacking Mr Mummert and that he could feel the force of the animal through the water as it passed under his board.
"It was like a small car, it was just huge," he said.
Authorities today closed Bunker Bay and patrolled it to send swimmers away when they tried entering the water.
The attack has reignited a decade-long debate about how to control sharks in waters off the WA coast.
The state Opposition today called for real-time alerts in ocean 'hotspots', using technology that costs about $50,000 to purchase and install, according to MP Zak Kirkup.
After more than 24 hours of patrol, Bunker Bay was reopened at midday today – but within 25 minutes, the City of Busselton Council reversed its decision and extended the closure until Monday.
Premier Mark McGowan today said the issue of policing sharks off the state's coast was a hard one.
"The sharks move up and down the coast; they can be in one post 50km from another post in the course of a couple of hours," he said.
The closest detection receiver in the water to Bunker Bay is at Meelup Beach, almost 11km away.
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