Swimmer mauled to death by Great White Shark in front of hundreds of tourists on New Zealand beach as armed police opened fire on the animal at least 20 times

Mr Mose said that as blood filled the water, three or four more sharks arrived. The fishermen were forced to watch as the shark carried the man’s body out to sea.
‘It’s awful – like a nightmare. I was shaking, scared, panicked.’

Police in inflatable rubber boats shoot at a shark off Muriwai Beach in New Zealand as they attempt to retrieve a body following a fatal shark attack

At least three sharks are believed to have been involved in the attack

Mr Mose, who said he had never seen sharks before despite fishing in the area for three years, added: ‘All I was thinking was I wanted to jump in the water and help, but I didn’t want to get attacked, too.’
Police rushed to the scene and officers in a helicopter guided another on board a rubber boat to where the 12ft to 14ft shark was swimming near the victim.
He then fired around 20 shots into the water, witnesses said. It was unclear if the shark had been killed. Inspector Shawn Rutene said he could not confirm whether the shark that was shot, and which ‘rolled away’ as a result, was involved in the initial attack.

Predator: It is thought Mr Strange was attacked by a great white shark

He refused to say if it was attacking Mr Strange at the time. Police took 30 more minutes to retrieve his body.
Adventure lover Mr Strange had worked all over the world, according to his website. His short film Aphrodite’s Farm was in ten major festivals and last year won the Crystal Bear award for best short film at the Berlin Film Festival.
He had also been a finalist at the London International Awards.
His wife Meg was last night being comforted at their home, not far from the beach.
His family, some of whom live overseas, said in a statement Mr Strange was a ‘glorious’ person, a ‘great father, husband and friend.’

Grief: There were emotional scenes at Muriwai Surf Lifesaving Club after the fatal attack

Volunteer lifeguard service chairman Tony Jago said the victim's family was 'very upset', left, after police spoke to media about the attack, right

Scene: Muriwai beach was closed in the wake of the attack on Wednesday

Police said the swimmer was about 200 metres from shore when he was attacked

The great white: Attacks on humans are often cases of mistaken identity