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AzerNEWS Staff

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Several beaches in the Perth area of Australia will remain closed until Sunday following a fatal shark attack on a swimmer.

Authorities in Western Australia have made the rare decision to authorize the capture and killing of the shark believed to be responsible for the attack.

The victim has been identified as 63-year-old Greg O’Neil. The incident occurred on September 18 near the popular Sorrento Beach, north of Perth. His body has not yet been recovered.

According to witnesses, O’Neil was swimming with another man, who managed to get out of the water at the time of the attack. The search for the shark is ongoing.

It was the second shark attack in Western Australia within a week and the third fatal shark incident in the state since the beginning of the year.

The decision to capture and kill the shark is an exceptional measure in Western Australia. State Fisheries Minister Jackie Jarvis said that, to her knowledge, it was the first time in around 10 years that such a decision had been made.

At the same time, authorities stressed that great white sharks are a protected species and ruled out the possibility of a large-scale cull of sharks.