A husband and father has died after being bitten by a shark while surfing at Dee Why, on Sydney’s northern beaches.

The man in his 50s, an experienced surfer, was surfing with friends about 100 metres from the sand at Long Reef Beach about 10am on Saturday when a large shark bit him and his surfboard, police said. His board was cut in two and he lost both legs.

Police said the man died in the water, and his body was brought to shore by the other surfers.

He leaves behind a wife and young daughter, said Inspector Stuart Thomson, noting the attack occurred just the day before Father’s Day.

“It’s a terrible, terrible thing. It’s one of those freak accidents that happens very, very rarely,” he said.

Police are still on the scene and searching the water for the man’s limbs, while Surf Life

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