An Australian surfer who was killed by a 14-foot shark reportedly tried to warn others about the predator before he was mauled – and was remembered by one of his daughters as a “legend” who had a “heart as deep as the ocean.”

Mark Sanguinetti, 59, of Sydney, suffered injuries to his upper thigh when he was attacked by the great white on Tuesday while surfing at Tuncurry Beach in New South Wales, police said.

Other beachgoers pulled him from the water.

“It’s believed that when the attack occurred, the man did actually see the shark and called out to try to warn others and very heroically his friends were able to bring him back into shore after he had been attacked,” Police Superintendent Chris Schilt said, news.com.au reported.

In a poignant tribute, one of Sanguinetti’s daughters wrote: “We all knew him as a legend with a heart as vast and deep as the ocean, which was the first of his many loves.”

She also invited surfers to a ceremonial “paddle out” on Monday in honor of her dad – adding that, “If you knew him, you understand how lucky you were to.”

A man who saw the horrific incident described Sanguinetti’s final moments.

“The shark came out of the water, just smashed him, five seconds later he came round and hit him again,” the witness, identified as Daryl, told 7News.

Sanguinetti was pulled from the water but died despite the efforts of bystanders and first responders to revive him.

Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed that four sharks were caught, tagged and released Wednesday at Tuncurry and Forster Main beaches – but they
don’t think any of them are the white shark believed to have attacked Sanguinetti, news.com.au reported.

There have been 268 detections of white sharks since April 1 in New South Wales waters, officials said.