Human remains have been discovered after a father-of-four was mauled to death by sharks off the coast of Israel.
Barak Tzach, 40, was mauled by sharks on Monday after swimming out into the sea off of Olga Beach in Hadera.
Police and emergency services conducted an extensive search operation following the attack, including rescue units, along with air and naval forces, were deployed to locate Tzach.
His remains were discovered on Tuesday evening, with authorities confirming his identity later that night.
The incident occurred at around 3pm on Tuesday afternoon
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Deputy Fire Chief Doron Almashali said: “After a day and a half of intensive effort, we have found what appears to be part of the missing person.”
The man from Petah Tikav had decided to go fishing at the beach on his way home from work.
Horrifying footage captured his final moments as he thrashed around in the water, which quickly turned red during the bloody attack.
“He went into the water to dive and photograph sharks, not to feed them or play with them,” Tzach’s family told Israel National News.
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According to his wife Sarit, Tzach was equipped only with a mask, snorkel, fins and a GoPro camera.
When the sharks approached too closely, he used the stick of his GoPro camera to “gently push them away”, his family explained.
A fisherman who witnessed the incident said Tzach “swam alongside the shark and later moved a little further out”.
An eyewitness revealed Tzach’s haunting last words: “I’m bitten, I’m bitten,” as he waved his hands in the air.
Authorities closed off nearby beaches in their search for the missing diver
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Videos shared on social media show other beach-goers, including children, standing in the water as sharks swam around their legs just moments before the attack.
Despite swimming being banned at Olga Beach, bathers enter the water regardless.
Shark attacks in the Mediterranean are extremely rare, with only 50 recorded since 1900, and just 11 of those being fatal.
This incident was just the third recorded shark attack in Israel, according to Yigael Ben-Ari, who is the head of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s marine rangers.
After the attack, local authorities closed Olga Beach and nearby beaches, while the Hadera Municipality Coastal Department urging the public “to avoid entering the water and contact with the sharks”.
