MORRO BAY STATE PARK, California: Authorities have announced that a surfer was killed last week by a great white shark off the coast of Morro Bay State Park in central California.

The Morro Bay Police Department reported that the incident occurred before 11 a.m., adding that the man was unresponsive after he was pulled from the water, having “suffered from an apparent shark attack.”

Morro Bay Harbor Patrol Director Eric Endersby told ABC News that a woman surfing nearby saw a surf board and someone face down in the water, adding that the police arrived shortly after and helped pull the victim onto shore.

The surfer was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Endersby added that there were no witnesses to the attack, and the bite, which will be measured by a coroner, appeared to be consistent with that of a great white shark.

The police also said that the San Luis Obispo County Coroner’s Office and state parks representatives were investigating the incident.

Also, a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife was on the scene, Endersby noted.

Although authorities have ordered the public to stay out of the water for 24 hours, local beaches remained open.

Shark attacks are very rare, especially fatal ones.

According to data from the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, the U.S. recorded 33 unprovoked shark attacks on people last year, with three being fatal.

Nearly half of the unprovoked attacks occurred in Florida, but the fatalities were in California, Hawaii and Maine.