I was at the beach myself at the time on the far end having lunch when we heard the sirens and saw the emergency vehicles coming in at the Fish Hoek parking entrance before turning back and heading towards Clovelly.
The Shark Spotters on duty had closed the water to swimmers at 10h30 but according to a news report on Cape Talk at 15h00 the swimmer, a man who is in the water on an almost daily basis and knows about the high frequency of sharks in the bay, still went into the water after that. He was attacked by a great white shark that could still be clearly seen in the water once the helicopter had airlifted him to hospital.
The video below shows the events following the attack, in which the man is said to have lost a leg.
A city wide power outage this morning meant that the shark siren could not be sounded at the time the man entered the water but it is thought by a spokesperson from the Shark Spotter programme that this would unlikely have deterred him from entering, although there is no way of knowing at this stage.
The vicitim, who has not yet been named, is reported to be in a critical but stable condition.
See www.news24.com and www.ewn.co.za for follow up news on this tragic event.
Be Shark Safe
We appeal to all who visit our beaches this summer - pay attention to the shark flags and warnings and do not ever enter the water if a shark has been sighted in the area and if the white flag bearing a black shark, or a red shark flag, is flying.
Follow @SharkSpotters on Twitter and Facebook and if you plan on using the water keep informed about shark activity in the region.