Friday 10:30am: Senior Sergeant Richard Moore, OIC of Esperance Police Station spoke to media this morning regarding yesterday’s shark attack.
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Friday 9am: Capture lines are likely to be returned to the water today after two white sharks have already been captured following a shark attack on Bunbury man Sean Pollard.
The 23-year-old shark attack victim suffered severe injuries in a savage shark attack 150-metres off the back of the surf break at Wylie Bay, near Esperance on Thursday morning.
Two white sharks were caught on capture lines following the attack, in which Mr Pollard lost a hand and part of his arm while surfing at Kelpids Beach. Both sharks died on capture gear and will be transported to Perth for research purposes and further examination by the Department of Fisheries' shark experts.
The attack saw Mr Pollard lose one arm from the wrist and other from the elbow as well as suffer lacerations to a leg and he was flown to hospital in Perth by the Royal Flying Doctor Service on Thursday afternoon.
The Department of Fisheries will decide whether to return the capture lines to the water this morning.
Scroll down to read all the updates on this tragic incident in our rolling coverage from yesterday below.
10pm: A second white shark has been caught in the Wylie Beach area this evening.
Department of Fisheries officers caught the shark, which was about three-metres in length, in the same vicinity they caught a white shark up to 4.5m in length this afternoon.
The sharks were caught following a shark attack on 23-year-old Bunbury man Sean Pollard who lost a hand and part of his arm while surfing at Kelpids Beach, Wylie Bay, near Esperance this morning. The attack happened 150-metres off the back of the surf break at Wylie Bay.
Both sharks died on capture gear and will be transported to Perth for research purposes and further examination by the Department of Fisheries' shark experts.
The department said even after further examination it may be possible to confirm whether either of the sharks were involved in the shark attack at Wylie Bay about 11am on Thursday as it was common for sharks to disgorge their stomach contents.
Beaches have been closed from Wylie Bay to Cape Le Grand.
Capture lines have been removed and a decision whether to return them to the water would be made on Friday.
Video: Watch as shark attack victim Sean Pollard gets wheeled on a stretcher from an ambulance to the waiting Royal Flying Doctor Service plane at Esperance Airport.
4:20pm: The shark attack victim's name and identity has been confirmed as Sean Pollard from Bunbury.
Mr Pollard is a player with the South Bunbury Football Club which released a statement on its Facebook page today in support of him and his family.
"Today a young man was attacked by a shark in Esperance. Unfortunately the young man is one of our own in Sean Pollard," it read.
"Our Thoughts are with Polly and his family from everyone at South Bunbury Football Club. We are with you all the way mate."
3:45pm: The Department of Fisheries have captured a white shark, believed to be the one involved in today's attack in Esperance.
The shark will be killed.
The department used two baited hooks to catch the shark, which is between three and 4.5m long. It was caught within an hour of setting up the hooks off a beach near Esperance in Western Australia and will be killed.
3:30pm: The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has picked up the shark attack victim from the Esperance Airport and is flying him back to Perth for further treatment.
The RFDS plane landed at the airport at 2:15pm and an abulance arrived about 2:20pm from Esperance Hospital carrying the patient.
There were three staff on board the RFDS plane.
The ambulance parked up inside a garage at the airport on arrival. About five people soon after pushed the RFDS plane closer to the garage before the victim was wheeled out on a stretcher to the plane.
The plane was heading back to Perth about 3pm.
3:pm: The Shire of Esperance has released a media statement asking people to respect the signs and stay away from areas that have been closed to allow investigators to look in to the shark attack.
Esperance Shire President Malcolm Heasman said it was recommended that locals and tourists stay out of the water until the situation is resolved.
“An incident of this nature is dreadful for those involved and we send our prayers and best wishes to the young man and his immediate family. I understand that staying out of the water may be an inconvenience for some however it has been recommended that we should resist the urge for the next few days for our own safety," he said.
You can read the full statement from the Shire of Esperance here.
2:15pm: The Royal Flying Doctor Service has arrived at Esperance Airport to pick up the shark attack victim.
2:10pm: Beaches have been closed at Wylie Bay, near Esperance, following the shark attack this morning.
The Department of Fisheries is currently investigating and has deployed equipment in an effort to catch the shark. The species of the shark is currently unknown at this stage.
The department says beaches are likely to remain closed for the next few days and urged local people and holiday makers to stay out of the water.
The department is working closely with police, the Shire of Esperance and Department of Parks and Wildlife to close the beaches, as well as Surf Life Saving Association jet skis in the location of the incident.
1:35pm: The Royal Flying Doctor Service is heading to Esperance to pick up the shark attack victim.
The plane is expected to land at Esperance Airport at 2:15pm and will arrive back in Perth by 4:30pm.
3:45pm: The Department of Fisheries have captured a white shark, believed to be the one involved in today's attack in Esperance.
The shark will be killed.
The Department of Fisheries deployed two drum lines at Wylie Bay after this morning's attack.
The 23-year-old man attacked by a shark near Esperance is believed to have lost part of both of his arms in the attack.
The man was surfing at break east of Wylie Bay, eight kilometres east of Esperance, when he was attacked around 11am this morning.
Senior Sergeant Richard Moore could not confirm whether the man's injuries were life threatening or to which part of the body he was attacked.
However, a spokesman for St John Ambulance told Fairfax Media the man had been bitten on both of his arms. The person who called the ambulance said the man had lost one arm from the wrist and other from the elbow, along with suffering lacerations to a leg.
The beach has been closed.
Mr Moore said a male member of the public had alerted emergency services to the attack and transported the man, whose parents live in Bunbury, from the beach to the bitumen where he was then taken to Esperance Hospital by the St John Ambulance.
Mr Moore told Esperance Express officials from the Department of Fisheries, Department of Transport, Surf Life Saving and Volunteer Marine Rescue Services were looking for the shark.
He did not know what kind of shark attacked the man or who was in the water with his at the time. However, he said the victim's girlfriend was with him at the hospital.
When the Esperance Express arrived at the scene, a beach closed sign had been put up and the area was being guarded by two men while the Shire of Esperance rangers were driving along the beach and shepherding people away from the area.