THE diving companion of a marine biologist killed by a shark off the coast of South Australia last night described how the victim tried to free himself from the jaws of the predator as it dragged him into deep water.

The two men had been collecting cuttlefish eggs off Glenelg Beach, near Adelaide, when the shark, presumed to be a great white, began circling them. Justin Rowntree, who had been diving with Jarrod Stehbens, a University of Adelaide colleague, said: “I thought it was a dolphin, It just nudged my side and I looked around [and saw] just a big white mass.”

As the pair resurfaced and tried to return to their boat, the shark repeatedly used its snout to force Mr Stehbens, 23, under the water. Two researchers helped Mr Rowntree aboard the boat, but they watched in horror as the shark took hold of their colleague and dragged him under. Mr Stehbens was seen calmly trying to free his leg from the shark’s jaws.

“Jarrod fought it off initially and then it came back again and grabbed his leg and just took him deeper,” Mr Rowntree said. Police later found an oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest, but last night called off their search for the victim’s body and the killer shark.

Mr Stehben’s parents said that their son would not have wanted the shark to be hunted down and killed. The attack occurred less than a mile from the spot where a teenage surfer was killed by a shark in December. It was the fifth fatal attack in the region since 2000.

Local fishermen criticised the divers for swimming in an area renowned for sharks and where many anglers used bait likely to arouse the predators. The attack renewed calls for a lifting of a ban on shark hunting that has led to a recovery of the Australian shark population.

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