A woman who died after a shark attack on Australia's western coast Sunday became the second person to fall victim to a shark in the area in less than a week.
Police received a report that a woman had been found injured in the water off of Mindarie Sunday morning local time, and those who brought the woman to shore reported sighting a shark in the area, according to the Government of Western Australia's "Shark Smart" website.
The woman's injuries are consistent with a shark attack, and while "the cause of the injuries are yet to be confirmed," the Western Australia Department of Fisheries is treating the incident as a fatal shark attack, the government said.
"Given the nature of the injuries and the location of the incident, it is likely that a large white shark, greater than 3 meters (nearly 10 feet) in size is responsible," the government said in a statement.
The City of Wanneroo, where Mindarie is located, has closed the beach.
The Western Australia Department of Fisheries set up traps near where the woman was attacked, but nothing was caught Sunday, according to the government statement. "The department will re-set capture gear at sunrise tomorrow, given there has been a determination that a serious threat to public safety exists," the statement said.
The attack was the second fatal shark incident in Western Australia in less than a week. A male surfer's leg was bitten off Tuesday by a shark in the waters of Mandurah, about 60 miles from Wanneroo. Ben Gerring, 29, died in the hospital from his injuries on Friday, according to The Associated Press.
A nearly 14-foot-long white shark was captured near the area of that attack on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Western Australia's Shark Smart site.
