An Australian man has been hailed a “hero” after repeatedly punching a shark until it released his wife’s leg.
Police said the couple were surfing at a beach near Port Macquarie, four hours north of Sydney, on Saturday morning when she was bitten twice and injured on her right leg.
“Her companion was forced to punch the fish until it let go,” police said in the statement.
Paramedics treated the 35-year-old at the beach before she was later airlifted to a major hospital for surgery.
One witness who was surfing nearby when the attack occurred called the man a “hero” for taking on what appeared to be a great white shark up to three metres (10 feet) long.
“He started laying into the shark because it wouldn’t let go,” Jed Toohey told the Daily Telegraph.
“He saved her life… He was really incredible.”
The woman’s husband, Mark Rapley, played down his efforts, telling the newspaper he “did what anyone would have done in that moment”.
Australia has one of the world’s highest incidences of shark attacks and there have been five fatal ones in the country so far this year.
Just last month, a shark pulled a 10-year-old boy from a fishing boat off Tasmania. He survived after his father jumped in the water to save him.
Enjoy good journalism?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has cut advertising rates in half, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we’ve expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Value Raw Story?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has cut advertising rates in half, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we’ve expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to:
[email protected].