LONDON — A man has been killed in a shark attack while he was surfing off the coast of Australia on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning when emergency services were called to Tuncurry Beach in New South Wales to reports of a man suffering from injuries sustained in a suspected shark attack, according to the New South Wales Police.

The victim, a man believed to be in his 50’s, had been surfing Tuesday morning when he was attacked and suffered critical injuries to his upper right thigh during the incident.

“The man … believed to be in his 50s, was pulled from the water and officers from Manning Great Lakes Police District commenced CPR; however, he died at the scene,” New South Wales police said in a statement regarding the attack.

New South Wales Ambulance also tweeted about the incident and said that “despite the best efforts of paramedics and bystanders at the scene the man could not be resuscitated.”

Tuncurry Beach and Forster Main Beach are currently closed as police work with the Department of Primary Industries to identify the species responsible.

Reuters reports that this incident is believed to be Australia’s first fatal shark attack of the year, according to the Taronga Conservation Society, and that eight people were killed by sharks in Australia last year.