Teenage boy mauled to death by shark while swimming off South Australia coast just days after Christmas

A TEENAGE boy was mauled to death in a horror shark attack today just off a popular south Australian beach.

The young swimmer’s body was pulled from the water near Ethel Beach in the Innes National Park.

The attack took place around 1.30pm local time on Yorke Peninsula and emergency services rushed to the scene – but it was too late.

“Sadly the body of a teenage boy was recovered from the water,” an SA Police spokesperson said.

“Yorke Mid North Police, Detectives and Crime Scene Investigators attended at the scene.”

Ethel Beach is a popular 450m-long spot for surfing and tourists, which is accessed by a sealed off road.

A local fisherman said the huge sharks were a common sighting in the area, the reports.

“We’ve seen some pretty big bronzies in the area, but that’s normal here,” he said.

“I went to take the boat out and the road to Ethel’s was blocked by rangers.

“There’s no cell reception out there in the park so we didn’t know what had happened until we got back to Marion Bay.”

South Australia has been experiencing a spate of shark attacks in recent months, with two fatalities.

In May, Simon Baccanello, 46, was killed by a shark white surfing near Ellison on the west coast

The local teacher’s surfboard later surfaced with huge bite marks after being dragged by the beast underwater.

And in November, 55-year-old surfer by a 13ft Great White south of Streaky Bay.

Only a week later, Bridgette O’Shannessy, 32, was viciously attacked in while swimming off south of Adelaide.

She suffered “extremely serious head injuries” and lasting nerve damage, while also having to have the predator’s teeth removed from her skull.

On October 2, Pamela Cook, 64, was forced to faced off a shark on her morning swim near Beachport.