Kite surfer reportedly killed by sharks off Florida

Shark attacks on humans are extremely rare but now and then a sad story breaks and we become aware that we are merely trespassers in the marine environment. The latest tragedy involves a kite surfer who reportedly was attacked and killed Wednesday by sharks off Stuart, Fla. Here's the Florida Today (Associated Press) story:

STUART—A kite surfer was fatally attacked by sharks off a Stuart beach. A lifeguard first saw a man, later identified as 38-year-old Stephen Howard Schafer, in distress about 500 yards from shore Wednesday afternoon. The lifeguard paddled out and saw the man encircled by sharks.

The lifeguard put Schafer on his rescue board and paddled away from the sharks, back to shore. Rescuers performed CPR at the beach, and paramedics took Schafer to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office was investigating the attack. While swimmers and surfers often receive minor bites off Florida beaches, officials say fatal shark attacks are extremely rare.