The surfer killed in a horror shark attack on Sydney’s Northern Beaches has been named as Mercury Psillakis, a beloved local business owner and dad.
Psillakis, 57, was out surfing about 100m off-shore at Long Reach Beach when he was pulled under by a shark around 10am on Saturday.
The father-of-one had only been in the water for about 30 minutes before he was mauled by what police described as a “large shark”.
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Psillakis leaves behind a wife and young daughter with the attack happening just a day before Father’s Day.
He is well-known in the local Northern Beaches community for selling exotic plants with his social media littered with him selling the rare and unusual plants on Facebook groups.
The beloved father suffered horrific injuries to his body before other surfers managed to grab his body and bring him to shore.
The attack occurred about 100m from the beach, police said.
Both the surfer and his board disappeared under the water, NSW Police Inspector Stuart Thomson said in a press conference earlier on Saturday, with Psillakis suffering “catastrophic injuries” including the loss of several limbs.
“His (friends) managed to make it back to the beach safely and a short time later his body was found floating in the surf and a couple of other people went out and recovered it,” Thomson said.
“Attempts to save his life were unsuccessful.”
Thomson said Psillakis was an experienced surfer.
“Tomorrow being Father’s Day is particularly … tragic,” he said.
“Our heart goes out to them.”
Psillakis’ board was also broken in half, with the pieces to be examined to help determine what kind of shark was responsible.
There were a number of people who witnessed the attack including the victim’s friends, who were nearby at the time, and other surfers who believed what they saw was a shark.
NSW’s Department Of Primary Industries is taking the lead in investigating the incident.
“It’s a terrible, terrible thing and it’s one of those freak incidents that happens very very rarely,” Thomson said.
“Obviously there was a lot of people down at the beach at the time, its a beautiful day here at Dee Why, its a great tragedy.”
A number of police boats and jet skis spent Saturday out on the water looking for the shark, as well as the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter.
Beaches between Manly to Narrabeen have been closed until further notice.
Surf Life Saving said Dee Why and Long Reef beach would likely be closed for up to three days with other beaches in the region expected to stay shut for at least 24 hours.
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