DAMN! Aussie diver partially swallowed head-first by Great White...FIGHTS IT OFF!

[BreweryYardRat]

An Australian abalone diver told rescuers on Tuesday he was partly swallowed head-first by a great white shark but managed to fight his way free, suffering a broken nose and bite marks around the chest.

The 25-year-old diver said he was underwater off Cape Howe, near Eden on Australia's southeast coast, when the shark attacked on Tuesday.

"He stated that he was head-first into the shark," a spokeswoman for Snowy Hydro SouthCare rescue service told Reuters after airlifting the diver to hospital.

"When he came to us he was conscious and alert but had a broken nose and lacerations to both sides of his torso and chest -- bite marks all the way around," the spokeswoman said.

"He believed it was a 9-foot (3-meter) white pointer. He said he fought it off," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/01/22/australia.shark.reut/index.html


He's damn lucky it was only 9 feet. As to how he did it-an unsubstantiated source says the shark only got his head and one arm in its mouth. The diver was able to pull his knife with the free arm and stab the shark in the eye.

[petronius]

1. Aussies are so pathetic...

A real man would've dragged it back to shore and grilled it for dinner...







:hide:

[barb162]

30. hahahah

[undeterred]

2. this thread is useless without pictures!

:hi:

[BreweryYardRat]

3. CNN just has a generic pic at the link.

If you like, I'll see if Aussie news sites have details. Later.

[cboy4]

9. I found the dude's photo at least

:hi:

[Bassic]

17. Hey, he looks just like my uncle did

back in 1984 :D

[Broken_Hero]

4. Well, he is lucky his survival instinct kicked in

I for one, in the same situation, probably would've just thrashed around a bit, making the situation worse for myself....I hate sharks, they are my number 1 fear...

[driver8]

5. Mine, too.

The idea of being in the middle of the ocean with no idea of what is below me scares the crap out of me.

[BreweryYardRat]

6. Depends on the water clarity.

I swim in Florida's Intercoastal Waterway occasionally, and the water in my little patch of it is so murky, I don't like to get out over my head, because I can't see anything that might be swimming around me.

[Broken_Hero]

8. in SE Alaska, the water is

awfully murky too...I usually don't go out past my waist...when I was in S. Cal, I didn't go out post my knees....

[cboy4]

12. Wow....you really are afraid of sharks if you won't go out past

your knees!

Sharks are sweet and kind ;)

[Broken_Hero]

13. Aww...how precious,

NOT...If I were in charge, there would be a hefty bounty put out on them Sharks....:)

I was at Redondo Beach, and Long Beach...my buddy was living in Torrence at the time, and he talked me into going body surfing...but, when I got there I was like...ah, no way.

So, my bud goes way the hell out there with his board and is goofing off, teasing me...meanwhile, I'm out in the water, up to my knee's...freaking out when the seaweed, or other debris hit my shins....I'd rather be safe, than shark bait.

[cboy4]

14. bwahahaha...it is true though, ha? When that seaweed wraps

around your leg, you immediately think it's a fricken jellyfish or some other stinging object.

Near the Bay Area where I live, you probably know the water is too cold so you have to wear a wet suit to surf.

And......you end up looking like a seal flapping around in the waters of the Red Triangle!! :scared:

[Patiod]

33. Guys in my dive club used to say:

Whether or not you can see them, they're ALWAYS there.

Their favorite story was about a club member who was spear-fishing, and was stupid enough to tie her catch right to her weight belt, rather than put them on a long line. She was getting back aboard the dive boat, and without saying a word, someone reached over and pulled the buckle which released her weight belt. Turns out that instead of speared fish attached to the belt, there was now a fairly substantial shark (by NJ standards) attached

[HEyHEY]

7. Bah, we used to fight sharks off till the cows came home

Back in the 30s

[Broken_Hero]

10. it reminds me of the shark scene

in The Beach.....:D That part, always cracked me up....

[mentalsolstice]

11. And he fought off being blocked on DU! n/t

[xchrom]

15. shudder -- sharks -- i can't get in the ocean

cause o'them bad boys.

[BreweryYardRat]

16. Most shark species are fairly harmless.

Out of hundreds, these are the only ones that pose much of a threat:

Great Whites
Tiger sharks
Bull sharks
Oceanic Whitetips
Great Hammerheads
Blue sharks
Mako sharks

[unpossibles]

18. you forgot Loan sharks

and land sharks.

:D

[Ekirh]

34. Candygram? N/T

[LeftyMom]

21. And the Land Shark

Oh god, I just realized you're not really old enough to get that. Then again, neither am I.

[BreweryYardRat]

27. I've heard about the old SNL(?) gag.

But I'm a geek. When I hear "land shark" I think about either a D&D monster, or the Land Shark Gun from one of LucasArts' games.

[NewJeffCT]

35. If you're in Australia, the real water danger is the box jellyfish

kills more than sharks, gators/crocodiles and snakes combined. Generally considered the world's most poisonous animal.

Box Jellyfish- One of the more deadly animals on the face of the Earth, also called "Sea Wasp". The jelly-fish has a square body, and lives in Northern and North-Eastern Australia. It can be found near the coast along all the Great Barrier Reef which extends as far as 2000 Km. The toxin present on the tentacles (which may reach several feet in length) is so strong, that the few survivors from an encounter with a box jellyfish describe it more as an electrical shock than a burn. After contact, the person will probably leave the water screaming and will faint on the sand with marks on the body that look like streaks. Depending on the area affected, Cardio-Respiratory functions may stop in just 3 minutes, and mouth to mouth resuscitation and first aid procedures are essential to keep the victim alive. It's essential that you stay with the victim, and send someone to phone for or get an ambulance. Vinegar and peeing on the spot may reduce the pain a little bit, but medical assistance is vital to save the victim. The box jellyfish is responsible for more deaths in Australia than snakes, sharks, and salt water crocodiles put together.

http://www.yesaustralia.com/Curiosidades-animaising.htm

[SteppingRazor]

19. That's some fish tale. Did he fight tooth and nail?

:hide:

[One_Life_To_Give]

20. Fought?

More like the shark realized he wasn't a Seal. Great Whites are supposed to be picky eaters and don't much care for Homo sapiens.

[sakabatou]

22. Wow

[ChickMagic]

23. Geez - it wasn't a shark attack!

Yeah, they bite to figure out what you are and unfortunately you can get hurt. Very rarely do they actually attack. He got tasted. :hide:

[cwydro]

24. Saw that yesterday.

As someone who spends a LOT of time in the ocean, that freaks me out.:scared:

[Jimbo S]

25. What would Steve Irwin do?

Probably fight it off, then put his thumb in the shark's butthole.

[kwassa]

26. Pictures of the guy at these sites

picture of the guy in the hospital

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/one-in-10-million-man-snatched-life-from-jaws-of-death/2007/01/24/1169594363635.html

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21114103-953,00.html

[Haole Girl]

28. Okay, it took me a day to work up the nerve..

..to even read this story.

:scared:

[barb162]

29. He was so lucky

[LSK]

31. he did not fight it off, he was spit out

Great Whites come from underneath and "taste" what they have caught. Usually they do this with seals that swim on the surface. Once the shark tasted his catch and realized that it was not a seal, he spit it out.

[VOX]

32. It's Australian for swimming, mate!

Amazing story, and is that guy ever lucky that he didn't quite suit the shark's taste as lunch! :scared:

[Shakespeare]

36. Once again, a swimmer is saved by the Three Stooges defense move.

And a damn good thing that shark didn't get its fin up between its eyes in time.