Police in Western Australia have called off a search for a swimmer who was attacked by a shark.

The wife of Paul Millachip, 57, said she was with him at Port Beach in Perth on Saturday morning when two teenagers on a boat witnessed the shark attack.

“It came out of the blue. But it did happen, you just have to deal with it,” the wife said, asking not to have her name published.

She praised the teenagers who tried to help.

When the shark attacked a second time, they raced their boat and alerted other swimmers to get out of the water.

Police said earlier that the attack may have involved more than one shark, but witnesses said it appeared to be a four-and-a-half-metre (15-foot) great white.

Police said there was an extensive marine search for the father-of-two, which turned up a pair of goggles believed to belong to him.

“A family is now grieving, a man has lost his life. It’s a terribly sad situation,” Western Australia premier Mark McGowan said.

The most recent fatal shark attack in Australia was on September 5 in New South Wales state on the eastern coast.