An Australian tourist has died in a horror shark attack off a crowded beach in New Caledonia.
The man was swimming near a pontoon around 150 metres off Chateau-Royal beach in the capital Noumea on Sunday afternoon when the shark attacked, biting him a number of times.
Lifeguards at the beach were alerted to the attack after hearing cries from people in the water. They promptly evacuated the beach, ABC News reports.
The swimmer was rushed back to the shore by two people sailing their boat nearby, while other swimmers who witnessed the incident fled the water.
The bite victim was helped by several civilians on the beach, with paramedic Dr Vincent Ouradou telling local broadcaster La 1ère that the 59-year-old had been bitten at least three times on his arms and legs.
In spite of resuscitation efforts, the man died at the scene.
Sonia Lagarde, Noumea's mayor, ordered the closure of a majority of beaches in the area.
Drones were deployed to locate sharks in Noumea's waters, with Ms Lagarde ordering the capture of tiger sharks and bull sharks in the area.
Two were spotted just before operations were suspended at nightfall.
An investigation had been launched into the attack, police said, which happened inside the zone watched over by lifeguards.
It comes after a 49-year-old swimmer was seriously injured last month by a shark, also near the Chateau-Royal beach.
A few days later a surfer was also attacked by a shark - though he escaped without injury.
