Emergency services were called to the popular swimming spot about 20 kilometres north of the CBD at 10:15am local time on Friday, the same time as reports of a large shark. St John WA sent three crews including one on priority, and police have been patrolling the shoreline.
Witness Jacqui Rapaic told the ABC she was walking along the beach with a friend when the incident occurred. "My friend said, 'Jack, I think there's been a shark attack' and I looked out to the ocean and I could see a pool of blood," she said. She believed two men had been swimming but only one had made it back to shore. "I hugged onto my friend… [we] felt rather traumatised at that point," she said.
Another witness, Russell James, described seeing the helicopter circling and a police boat arriving, along with ambulances and people gathered near a groyne. Earlier, a member of the public reported seeing a 2.5-metre-long shark off the beach.
The suspected attack comes just a week after Surf Lifesaving WA began its helicopter shark patrols ahead of the summer season. Water police remain in the area as the search for the missing swimmer continues.