In spite of a brave attempt to rescue him, a 50-year-old beachgoer bled to death after he was attacked by a great white shark at the famous Byron Bay off the east coast of Australia.

According to local police, a brave swimmer identified as Mark Hickely, swam 50 to 65 feet into the sea to rescue British expat Paul Wilcox who was allegedly attacked by a great white shark in Byron Bay.

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According to Hickely, a 52-year-old Newcastle lawyer on vacation at the popular beach, he saw an image of something floating in the water around Wilcox which he originally thought to be just seaweed or a turtle.

However, as he probed the scene further, he saw that Wilcox was surrounded by bloody water and was being sized up by a two-meter-long shark.

The Newcastle lawyer said the shark was not leaving the 50-year-old man and attempted to attack him again.

Other witnesses claimed that they saw a great white shark bite into his upper right thigh, removing much of his leg.

"I went out there and, I don't know, I just thought I've got to get this guy in and that's what I tried to do," Hickely told the Daily Mail as he described the gory scene.

When he was out of the water, Hickely performed CPR on Wilcox for 20 minutes before the medical team arrived on the beach. However, Wilcox was later pronounced dead after losing too much blood.

Police have verified Hickley's statement, citing that the victim was "seen floating in shallow water, close to the shore line, and dragged on to the beach."

Reports indicated that Wilcox had been surfing alone at the renowned surfing area near Cape Byron, 800 kilometers north of Sydney, Australia.

After further investigations, authorities found out that Wilcox was a British-born man who decided to move to Byron and was due to meet some friends a few hours after the shark attack happened.

TagsGreat white shark, Byron Bay, Australia, British, shark attack, shark, great white