A 30-year-old man from Melbourne was reported missing yesterday after witnesses saw a struggle and heard screams at Wharton Beach, a remote area around 800km from the state capital, Perth.

A surfboard with bite marks was later recovered from the beach.

Police believe the man was killed during the attack after failing to locate his body.

“The family has been notified. I suspect it will be a recovery of a body if we can find it,” Western Australia police commissioner Col Blanch said in an interview with Perth radio station 6PR today.

Drone footage shot by a witness captured a shark swimming away from a large cloud of blood close to the shore, he added.

The man’s suspected death would be the fourth fatal shark attack in the area since 2017, two of which were suspected to have been caused by great white sharks, which can grow up to 6m in length.