Children watched in horror as teacher trying to protect them killed by gigantic 10 foot shark

The teacher had been surfing at a popular spot when a 10 foot shark was spotted in the water. It eventually attacked the teacher from behind, in front of terrified onlookers

A popular teacher was killed by a large shark as he selflessly warned terrified children and onlookers to get out of the water before he disappeared beneath the surface, never to be seen again. It was a bright, beautiful Saturday morning in May and 46-year-old Simon Baccanello ventured to the beach for a spot of surfing at Walkers Rock on the West Coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia in 2023.

The surfing hotspot wasn’t far from his new hometown of Elliston, where he’d begun teaching maths, science and PE at a local school. Simon had been affectionately referred to as “Mr B” by his students. On Saturday, May 13 2023, he was surrounded by fellow surfers, as well as children, when the apex predator was spotted in the water nearby.

Simon is said to have called for people to get out of the ocean but he was unable to make his way to shore before the shark attacked him.

Witnesses at the time claimed they saw a 10-foot long shark with a white underbelly swimming nearby.

Not long before 10am, the shark attacked Simon from behind, pulling him under the water and turning it a deep shade of red. Simon’s surf board was said to be “tombstoning”, a term used to describe a board jutting out of the water vertically, throughout the incident.

Simon didn’t resurface and his body was never recovered – even after an extensive search by emergency services.

Witness Jaiden Miller, 22 at the time, told Adelaide Now : “There was a bloke on the beach tooting his horn and as I turned around, I saw everyone paddling in.

“I saw his board tombstoning, which means he’s underwater and his board’s getting dragged under… trying to fight his way back up to the surface… he was gone.

“(We) saw the shark just thrashing around out the back. The shark obviously let go and come back and got him for a third time.”

Simon’s care for the young surfers in the water alongside him likely caused him to remain at the back of the group, being furthest away from the safety of the shore, and closest to the shark.

Though the specific shark involved in the attack hasn’t been identified, it’s widely believed to have been a great white.

These powerful animals are vital apex predators which help ensure the health of the oceans. According to White Shark Ocean, they “play a vital role in keeping other animal populations in check”.

They do this by “preying on seals and sea lions” which helps “control their numbers, which, in turn, safeguards the equilibrium of fish populations”.

White Shark Ocean adds: “This delicate balance ensures the sustainability and health of the entire food web.”

Unfortunately for humans, when we enter the natural environment and habitat of another species, it comes with great risk. Many human and shark encounters are a case of mistaken identity, with hungry sharks incorrectly assuming a human is a seal or sea lion, or another viable food source.

For Simon Baccanello, he was extremely unlucky on that fateful Saturday in 2023.

Speaking to 7NEWS, his younger sister Lydia Baccanello reflected on her brother’s legacy.

Of the school he was working at at the time of his death, she said: “Simon was only there for really five months, and in that short period of time he made such a difference.

“We know that now after speaking to a lot of his students, speaking to the staff and the community at Elliston, just how really amazing he was.”