Sydney, Australia:

A shark has attacked and killed a 40-year-old pastor who was fishing with his family in the waters of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, officials and local media said. The predator bit him on the neck on Saturday afternoon off Humpy Island on the country’s east coast, emergency services said.

The victim was Luke Walford, a youth pastor at the Cathedral of Praise church in the central Queensland town of Rockhampton, according to local media including public broadcaster ABC.

“The man was fishing with family members when he was bitten by a shark,” Queensland state police said in a statement.

He sustained “life-threatening injuries” and died about an hour-and-a-half afterwards, police said, adding that a report would be prepared for the coroner.

They were unable to confirm whether he was spearfishing at the time. Photos posted by Walford on social media in 2021 showed him aboard a boat in a wetsuit holding up large fish.

A Queensland ambulance spokeswoman told AFP on Sunday that he died at the scene after sustaining a “significant life-threatening wound to his neck”.

Humpy Island, which lies in the Great Barrier Reef’s Keppel Bay Islands National Park, has a popular camping ground that gives easy access to reefs for diving and snorkeling.

The country’s last fatal shark attack was in December 2023, when what was believed to be a great white killed a 15-year-old boy at a remote surfing spot in South Australia.

There have been more than 1,200 shark incidents in Australia since 1791, of which over 250 resulted in death, according to a national database.

Most serious bites are from white sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tamayo Perry, who appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, has died after being attacked by a shark. According to Sky News, Mr Perry, an Ocean Safety lifeguard and surfing instructor, was attacked by a shark off Oahu in Hawaii. The attack took place near Goat Island on Sunday and Mr Perry was spotted by a man who alerted the emergency services. When the officials arrived at the scene, they brought Mr Perry to shore by jet ski. But the actor was pronounced dead on the beach.

The 49-year-old had also appeared in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Blue Crush, as per the Sky News report. He also had a role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the franchise.

Released in 2011, it also featured Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush.

The BBC quoted acting Honolulu Ocean Safety chief Kurt Lager as saying that Mr Perry was “a lifeguard loved by all”. He added that Me Perry was well known on Oahu’s North Shore as well as around the world.

“Tamayo’s personality was infectious, and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more. Our condolences go out to Tamayo’s family,” said Mr Lager.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi echoed similar sentiments, calling Perry’s death “a tragic loss”, as per the BBC report.

“Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected, he grew up right over here, and just a great member of our ocean safety team,” the Mayor further said.

Mr Perry, who worked as a lifeguard on the North Shore, began his career with the Ocean Safety department in July 2016, the Sky News report said.