Authorities yesterday were hunting for two massive sharks, one as "big as a car," after they attacked and killed a surfer at a popular beach in western Australia.

　　The sharks, both believed to be Great Whites, attacked the 29-year-old while he was surfing near Gracetown, about 300 kilometers south of Perth city on Saturday.

　　The Western Australian department of fisheries confirmed that the surfer had died but could not provide details of the attack.

　　"We saw the guy start scrambling around and saw him clinging to the shark and trying to whack it and trying to get away," surfer Mitch Campbell said.

　　Another surfer said the attack was distressing but would not stop him from surfing.

　　"We were going to go down to the beach for a surf and a couple of blokes came up and said, 'don't go down there, somebody's been bitten in half by a shark,"' said Bart Mulder, a local surfer.

　　An ambulance officer said the victim suffered extensive injuries to the pelvis and abdomen. He died on the beach before medical workers reached him.

　　A witness, who was not named, said two teenagers who pulled the victim out of the water said one of the sharks was as big as a car.

　　About 20 people were at the beach at the time. Witnesses said there were two sharks in the vicinity up to 5 meters long, Channel Seven TV reported.

　　Television news footage showed a large part of Smith's board had been bitten off.

　　A government boat was searching for the sharks yesterday and officials said they plan to kill them.

　　The last fatal shark attack in Australia occurred last year on the Gold Coast in Queensland state. An 84-year-old man was killed while swimming in a canal linked to the nearby Pacific Ocean.

　　(The Associated Press)