A blissful day in the surf turned into a nightmare for a young Australian surfer when he was attacked by a shark, presumably a great white shark. The man, in his early 20s, survived the attack and is currently recovering in a hospital.
The incident took place on Monday morning at Gnarabup Beach in Perth’s south. It is a popular beach especially for surfing.
According to a spokesperson for the Western Australian health services, the young man is in a stable condition.
The West Australian reports that the man was able to escape from the jaws of the shark, after which a nurse found him at a nearby coffee shop and helped him.
Other surfers took him to a local hospital and he was later taken to Bunbry Regional Hospital.
Local authorities cordoned off the section of the beach where the incident took place as a precautionary measure for members of the public.
More than 100 of the world’s more than 370 shark species are found on the Western Australian coast – from the 30 cm long dwarf shark to the world’s largest fish, the soft whale shark, which can grow up to 12 m long.
According to the Taronga Conservation Society’s Australian Shark Incident Database, a total of 16 fatal shark attacks have been recorded in Western Australian waters since 2010.
The most recent attack was in February this year when a teenage girl died.
