Shark Bites Paddle Boarder: Victim Drives Himself To Hospital
A paddle boarder in Australia was bitten by a shark this weekend, yet the stunned and injured man collected himself enough to drive to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The incident took place around 7 a.m. on Saturday at McKenzies Beach near Batemans Bay, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Surfer Peter Forsyth heard the paddle boarder crying out for help after the shark lashed out at him, biting into his left ankle. Standing in waist deep water, the unidentified boarder had apparently felt the shark latch onto his leg, though Forsyth initially thought he had been stung by a ray.
“As I got closer, I could see big bite marks and blood coming out of his leg,” he recalled. “The shark grabbed him. He tried to kick it off with his other foot. It was latched onto him and he kicked it off.”
New South Wales beaches closed again after paddle boarder is attacked by a shark http://t.co/aKY0FYBl3H pic.twitter.com/aFZ5CZwmC5
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 11, 2015
Forsyth and fellow surfer Danny Freeman helped the man to shore, providing him with first aid by washing the shark bite and applying an improvised pressure bandage fashioned from towels. Noting that the wound was deep, Forsyth said that the duo had to tie the bandage tight in an attempt to stem the bleeding. Surprisingly, he noted that the paddle boarder took the wound mostly in stride.
“He was pretty tough,” the surfer recalled. “He said, ‘well, that’s ruined my weekend.'”
Authorities closed three beaches in the area, as the Daily Telegraph notes, and they will remain shuttered until Sunday morning at the earliest. Lifeguards will utilize jetskis to seek out the shark in an attempt to discern whether the area is safe for beachgoers. Regardless, it is not know what species of shark was responsible for biting the paddle boarder.
RT AUSTRALIAN DUDES WRESTLE HUGE SHARK TO CELEBRATE AUSTRALIA DAY https://t.co/o1v0kN9CGk pic.twitter.com/iCB6gx2FJq — Kevin Green (@xtacy8one) April 8, 2015
Last week, an Australian fisherman made headlines when he managed to land a massive tiger shark from a beach, using just a rod and reel. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the 19-year-old angler hooked the shark around 7 a.m., battling the predator for over three hours. Despite the shark’s impressive size, which could potentially have made it a world record catch, the fisherman opted to return it to the sea as quickly as possible, since it had been weakened by the fight.
The paddle boarder managed to drive himself to a local hospital following his encounter with the shark, where he was treated for the bite and then released.
[Photo by Chris Hyde/ Getty Images]
