Diver fighting for life after he was mauled by four-metre shark at Michaelmas Island, WA

By OLIVIA DAY, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:39, 6 June 2026 | Updated: 06:56, 6 June 2026 A diver is fighting for life after being mauled by a shark in Western Australia. The man was bitten by a suspected 4.5metre shark just before 11.30am on Saturday at Michaelmas Island off Albany, 400km southeast of Perth.  The man has been rushed to shore by boat, where he was met by paramedics.  He has suffered critical injuries, according to St John WA. Beachgoers have been urged to take extra caution around the island. WA Police confirmed the incident in a statement.   'About 11.20am on Saturday, 6 June 2026, emergency services were advised of a possible shark attack off the Albany coast,' a WA police spokesperson said. 'A male person is believed to have been bitten by a shark and is being conveyed by boat to shore and will be met by SJA WA paramedics. The man was bitten by a suspected 4.5metre shark just before 11.30am on Saturday at Michaelmas Island off Albany (stock image of the island) The island is about 400km southeast of Perth (a map is pictured) Beach-goers have been urged to show additional caution on the island (stock image) 'At this stage, we have no further details to confirm.' It comes one day after a surfer who was attacked by a shark at a remote beach on the NSW north coast said he was 'very lucky' to survive. Alejo Santiñaque, 20, was sitting on his surfboard waiting for a wave near Red Cliff, about 660km north of Sydney, when he suddenly felt a strong tug on his foot. 'A shark had bitten me,' the surfer wrote on social media. 'It pulled me into the water, and my immediate response was to kick it as hard as I could to make it let go.' Mr Santiñaque said the shark became entangled in his surfboard leash, which was torn away from the board by the force of the attack.' His friends helped him apply a tourniquet until the ambulance arrived. Mr Santiñaque was taken to hospital for surgery on his foot. Alejo Santiñaque, 20, was sitting on his surfboard waiting for a wave near Red Cliff, about 660km north of Sydney, when he suddenly felt a strong tug on his foot Red Cliff is a remote beach about 660km north of Sydney (pictured) The surfer said he was incredibly grateful to his mates for acting quickly and staying calm under pressure. 'Considering what could have happened, I was very lucky,' he wrote. 'The bite tore through skin and muscle, ruptured one tendon and damaged a few others, but it missed any major arteries.  'Looking at how serious shark attacks can be, I know I got off lightly.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.