Authorities in Western Australia have ordered the capture and killing of the shark suspected of killing a swimmer in Perth

Authorities in Western Australia have issued an order to capture and kill a great white shark suspected of killing a 63-year-old man on Friday while he was swimming off Sorrento Beach, north of Perth. The victim’s body, identified as Greg O’Neill, has not been found.

Several witnesses said they saw a shark approximately 2.5 metres long around the time of the attack. The animal was spotted by marine police on Saturday morning and positively identified as the shark involved in the attack, according to Western Australia’s Fisheries Minister.

Under these exceptional circumstances, authorities authorised the fisheries service to capture and kill the shark if it can be caught. Officials stressed that the measure does not represent a generalised campaign against sharks and said such an order could be the first issued in the region in the past ten years.

All beaches in the Joondalup area were closed until at least midday Sunday. Authorities also expanded the use of drones, as well as shark tagging and monitoring devices.

The attack at Sorrento is the second incident in Western Australia during the same week. On Monday, a 56-year-old man survived an attack while surfing at Geraldton, but lost part of his leg. Five fatal shark attacks have been reported in Australia this year.