A 10-year-old boy managed to escape with his life after he was attacked by an 8-foot- shark during a surfing competition.
Tyson Royston, who hails from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was taking part in the contest off the waters near Folley Beach, was taking a part in the even on Sunday afternoon when the ordeal unfolded.
Royston managed to swim to safety after the huge shark had taken a bite out of his surfboard, only missing his body by inches.
It’s believed this torment took place at 5.15pm on Sunday, whilst Tyson was competing in the 2013 South Carolina Governor’s Cup of Surfing, which is a two-day competition on Folly Beach that has been held for 25 years.
The director of the Southern South Carolina District of the Eastern Surfing Association, Nancy Hussey , saw the entire incident unfold and believes that the animal got caught up in the surfboard leash before he was able to get to Royston.
Royston remarked of the incident, “He threw me into a wave and I swam in as fast as I could.” After his miraculous escape, all 225 surfers were then asked to come out of the water, and the rest of the event was postponed until September 7.
Officials are adamant that attacks like this are incredibly rare in the area. Tyson had been performing tricks just before the shark swam up to him and then looked to pounce.
However, he only gripped onto his surfboard, and then Royston quickly unclipped himself from the board and swam back to shore.
Robert Weaver, Royston’s coach, explained, “We were watching the heat and I am trying to coach him and the next thing we know, a big shark came up, picked his board out of the water, lifted him up. I thought he was bit.”
Tyson wasn’t injured during the attack, but locals have now been warned to be vigilant whilst swimming.
[Image via Alexius Sutandio /Shutterstock]