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Florida kitesurfer surrounded by great white sharks, killed (UPDATED)
STUART, Fla. -- Sharks have killed a kite surfer off an Atlantic beach in a rare fatal attack in Florida waters.
The Martin County Sheriff's Office said a lifeguard first saw 38-year-old Stephen Howard Schafer in distress Wednesday about 500 yards from shore, near the town of Stuart.
The lifeguard paddled out and found sharks encircling Schafer. The lifeguard put Schafer on his rescue board and paddled back to shore. Paramedics took Schafer to a hospital, where he later died.
While swimmers and surfers often receive minor bites in Florida, officials say fatal shark attacks are extremely rare.
Research scientist Grant Gilmore told Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers the attackers were likely juvenile great white sharks.
Schafer's death was the first shark-related fatality in Florida waters in nearly five years. Jamie Marie Daigle, a 14-year-old Louisiana girl, died in Miramar Beach on June 25, 2005, after being attacked by what is believed to have been a bull shark.
