Killer shark probably a great white

on 24/10/2012 20:03:55

A shark which killed a surfer off California's central coast was probably a great white and may have been 15ft (4.6m) long, experts said today.

Francisco Javier Solorio junior, 39, was bitten in the upper torso off Surf Beach in Santa Barbara County yesterday. He died at the scene.

Authorities have closed the beach about 150 miles (240km) north-west of Los Angeles, where a 19-year-old surfer was killed in another shark attack two years ago.

Ralph Collier, of the Shark Research Committee, said he will meet investigators and examine the surfboard to study the teeth marks but it is likely the attacker was a great white, which is not uncommon in California waters.