SYDNEY: Life savers have released chilling helicopter footage of a 4.5-metre (15-foot) great white shark that was circling two unsuspecting divers in Western Australia.
Rescuers alerted the pair to the large predator slipping through the waters on Sunday (Feb 15) just off Cape Naturaliste, about 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Perth.
"Unaware of the danger, our crew sounded the siren, alerting the divers who exited the water onto their jet ski and headed to safety," Surf Life Saving Western Australia said in a social media post this week.
Western Australia's government says shark encounters are rare but people should take precautions including using a SharkSmart mobile app that gives near real-time alerts of shark activity.
It also offers a Aus$200 ($140) rebate to state residents who buy a "scientifically proven and approved" shark deterrent device, some of which create an electromagnetic field to repel the animals.
There have been more than 1,280 shark incidents around Australia since 1791, of which more than 250 resulted in death, according to a database of the predators' encounters with humans.
The most recent fatality was a 12-year-old boy who died after being attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour in January. - AFP
