A rugby player has been mauled to death in a horrific great white shark attack.
Jade Kahukore-Dixon, 24, was attacked by the deadly predator after jumping from a boat near Chatham Islands in New Zealand.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene where they found the young man in a critical condition.
He was taken to hospital where he later died as a result of his injuries.
The 24-year-old was mauled by a great white shark
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A police spokesman said: “Emergency services were called around midday, following reports the man – who had been diving off a boat – had been critically injured.
“He was rushed to Chatham Island Hospital, but has since died.”
The New Zealand Herald reported that Kahukore-Dixon was a commercial diver and the director and shareholder of the company Nomad Diving.
He was also one of the best young rugby players in the Chatham Islands team in 2018.
His grieving father Jacky Dixon said his son was amazing and would do anything to protect his family. He described the 24-year-old as “a very much loved member of the family”.
Dixon also claimed his son was used to seeing sharks in his diving adventures but was not bothered by them.
“He thought he was one with the ocean … [He] wasn’t scared of nothing,” he told local outlets.
The father recounted a time where Kahukore-Dixon’s friend saved his life, adding: “His mate jumped in, swam down there and Jade’s foot was stuck under a rock.”
The attack took place off Chatham Islands
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“He couldn’t get out and his mate freed his foot and got him up and saved his life,” he added.
Chatham Islands Mayor Monique Croom said he was a well known figure in the area and said the community was in “total shock.”
She claimed: “He’s a local boy. He’s well-known, well-liked and this will be pretty devastating for our commercial divers. It’s the biggest risk – the biggest fear.”