Woman witnesses Tasmania shark attack that killed her father

The pair had been diving, but when her father failed to surface the woman returned to the water and saw her father mauled by a shark, according to police

File image of Great White shark (Getty)

A woman witnessed her father's death in a shark attack while the two of them were diving off the Australian island state of Tasmania, according to police.

Inspector David Wiss said the woman had finished her dive but became concerned when her father failed to surface and returned to the water where she saw him being mauled by the shark.

"His daughter became worried and went down and checked on her father," Mr Wiss said.

"She saw a very large shark; she saw her father being attacked by the shark."

The attack happened off the east coast of the island. The pair had been out collecting scallops and were returning to their boat.

Peter Lingard, a government ranger, told The Examiner newspaper that a four and a half metre (15ft) great white shark had been seen in the area on Friday.

The attack comes as Australian professional surfer Mick Fanning made his return to the water since he fought off a shark during a World Surf League competition in South Africa last weekend.

(Additional reporting by agencies)