Adam Strange Dead, ‘Great White' Shark Kills Swimmer On Muriwai Beach Near Auckland, New Zealand (VIDEO, PICTURES)

A 46-year-old swimmer has been killed in a rare shark attack off New Zealand’s Muriwai beach.

Father-of-one Adam Strange was fatally injured by the shark, believed to be a great white measuring up to 14 feet long.

Fisherman Pio Mose saw the attack unfold.

Father-of-one Adam Strange died in a shark attack off New Zealand's Muriwai beach

He told the New Zealand Herald: “All of a sudden there was blood everywhere.

“I yelled at him to swim to the rocks. There was blood everywhere. The water was red. It's awful - it's scary like a nightmare to me. I was shaking, scared, panicked."

Police Inspector Shawn Rutene told reporters his team went out in inflatable surf-lifesaving boats and shot at the shark, which they estimate was 12 to 14 feet long and "very broad" in an attempt to retrieve Mr Strange's body.

"It rolled over and disappeared," Rutene said, without saying whether police are certain that they killed the creature.

Shark expert Clinton Duffy told the Associated Press that although New Zealand is a popular area for great whites, attacks are rare.

Police in a dinghy shoot at the shark in an attempt to retrieve Mr Strange's body

He said: "There are much lower levels of shark attacks here than in Australia.

Referring to New Zealand’s cooler climate, he added: "It's possibly a function of how many people are in the water.”

Duffy, who works for the Department of Conservation, estimated only 12 to 14 people have been killed by sharks in New Zealand since record-keeping began in the 1830s.

New Zealand’s 3News reports as many as four sharks may have been involved in the attack, although this has not yet been confirmed.

Mr Strange's wife Meg, who is the mother of his baby daughter, is being comforted by friends and neighbours.