Florida swimmers in panic as sharks kill kite-surfer

Beaches north of Miami remained largely empty as panic spread after a bizarre incident in which sharks attacked and killed a kite-surfer off the eastern coast of Florida.

Stephen Schafer, 38, was spotted by a lifeguard as he was floating encircled by sharks and screaming for help off Stuart Beach, some 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of Miami, police said.

The lifeguard brought the man to shore on his board and tried to resuscitate him Wednesday before he was rushed to hospital where he died.

The beach, which has never before recorded a shark attack, was swiftly closed Wednesday after the incident, but reopened Thursday as shark experts called for calm.

"This is very tragic and this kind of incident generates a lot of panic, but deadly shark attacks are very rare," said Neil Hammerschlag, a shark expert from the Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), at the University of Miami.

"Yearly, on average, just four people die from sharks. They usually don't bite people unless they are provoked."

Residents remained concerned though. "You always have the feeling that sharks are out there," said Teague Taylor, one of Schafer's friends.

"But I have never heard of a group of sharks surrounding someone and causing their death."

Schafer's body had several deep wounds some 25 centimeters (10 inches) long, his right bicep had been torn and he had gashes on his hand where he had apparently fought to defend himself.

"We don't know exactly what happened, but during this time of the year a lot of sharks are migrating in groups along the coast," said Hammerschlag.

"It is possible that he landed on a group of sharks and the sharks may have gotten defensive and perceived this kiteboard as a threat and bitten the guy."

Despite widespread fears that most shark attacks in Florida waters are deadly, in fact 90 percent result in only minor injuries, experts say.

"It is the risk we take when we engage in the wilderness experience... going into the sea is the wilderness. Happily for us it is a pretty benign environment," said George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research.

Most shark attacks are recorded off the central Florida coast, and 2008 was a record year with 23 documented attacks.