Several Sydney beaches, including Bondi and Bronte, have been closed after a swimmer was killed in a shark attack, the first such fatality at the city's beaches in nearly 60 years.
Drum lines, which are used to bait sharks, have been set up near the attack site while drones have been deployed as officials search for if the shark is still in the area.
The victim, a 35-year-old ocean swimmer who was attacked yesterday, leaving shocked fishermen and golfers to watch helplessly from nearby cliffs has been named locally as a British man.
Friends said Simon Nellist "loved the water" and was an experienced diving instructor.
It is believed Mr Nellist was a British expatriate living in the Wolli Creek area of Sydney, and was engaged to be married.
New South Wales Police said the search for his remains would continue at sunrise tomorrow.
Emergency services were called to Little Bay at around 4.35pm local time on Wednesday after reports a swimmer had been attacked by a shark.
"This has been a complete shock for our community," Dylan Parker, the mayor of Randwick Council which includes Little Bay, said.
"Our coastline is our backyard and to have a tragic death under such horrifying circumstances is completely shocking."
A charity ocean swim at a nearby beach scheduled for Sunday was cancelled out of respect for the victim and family.
Organisers of the Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim had considered postponing the swim till March, but said they decided to cancel it after consulting with the local council and lifesavers.
A spokesperson for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries said its shark biologists believe that a white shark at least 3 metres in length was likely responsible for the attack.
It was the first fatal shark attack in Sydney since 1963, data showed.
Authorities have ordered people to remain out of the water on a hot summer day as temperatures hovered around 30 Celsius.
Whales, dolphins, rays and several species of shark live along the coast and it is not uncommon to spot animals in the water, or to hear the ringing of shark alarms urging everyone back to the beach.
But most Sydneysiders take the risk in their stride.
"A few crazy surfers still go out and take the risk but most of us take notice and just stay out of the water until the sharks have gone. It's a lot more dangerous driving, to be quite honest," one local resident said.
Additional reporting PA
