FATAL – 31 March 2012 — south of Stratham near Busselton, Western Australia – diver attacked

Peter Kurmann was killed by a shark while diving off Western Australia

Peter Kurmann, 33, was attacked and killed by a four-metre great white shark around two kilometres off Stratham Beach, near Busselton, Western Australia. The incident happened on Saturday 31 March 2012.

Kurmann was diving with his brother, who was not harmed in the attack. His brother reportedly dragged Kurmann’s body back onto the dive boat and took him to Port Geographe Marina, near Busselton.

The brother is reported to have said he saw a 4-metre shark in the area at the time of the attack.

No other details of the incident were reported.

Sources:

ABC

The Telegraph

Asia One

PIC Source:

ABC

FATAL – 12 January 2010 – Fish Hoek, Cape Town, South Africa – swimmer attacked

Lloyd Skinner, 37, was killed by what is presumed to be a great white shark while swimming in chest deep water off Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town South Africa in the afternoon of Tuesday 12 January 2010.

Media reports witnesses at the popular holiday destination watched in horror as they watched a gigantic shark “the size of a minibus” eat the swimmer.

His body has not been recovered.

The Guardian reports:

Skinner was standing chest-deep 100 metres from the shore and adjusting his goggles when the shark struck. It was seen approaching him twice before he disappeared in a flurry of thrashing. Cape Town’s disaster management services had issued a warning hours earlier that sharks had been spotted in the water, but the shark flag was not flying.

The Cape Times quotes a local resident who saw the attack from his home near the beach:

“Holy shit. We just saw a gigantic shark eat what looked like a person in front of our house… That shark was huge. Like dinosaur huge,” Gregg Coppen posted on Twitter.

The newspaper quoted Kyle Johnston who’d been swimming near the man when the attack happened.

“We were swimming only about 15 metres away from the guy. We were at about chest depth and he was a little deeper.

“We looked at the walkway and saw people waving towels at us, then we looked further out to sea and saw what looked like blood, and a man’s leg come up.”

“I was floating and I thought the people waving at us were joking, but then I looked back and saw a fin and blood,”

Irishman Denis Lundon, who was on walkway at the back of the beach was quoted as saying he saw “several bits of fish” that might have been parts of a single shark emerging from the water, then a swimmer being thrust chest-high out of the sea.

“I jumped, waved my hat and roared and screamed at swimmers to get out of the water. I never want to experience this again. I’m going to block it out of my mind.”

“We saw the shark come back twice,” Lundon’s friend Phyllis McCartain, from England, said. “It had the man’s body in its mouth, and his arm was in the air. Then the sea was full of blood.”

Another witness on the beach, Kathy Geldenhys, was quoted as saying: “Only when it was attacking did I see the fin, but then I could see the whole body under the water. It was a very big shark.”

Sources:

Cape Times

The Guardian

FRIGHTENED – reported 3 January 2010 – Main Beach, North Stradbroke Island, Australia – surfer shaken

Russel Specht, 53, was shook up after a close encounter with a 4 metre great white shark while surfing with friends about 100 metres off Main Beach , North Stradbroke Island, east of Brisbane, Australia. The report on 3 January 2010 didn’t date the incident.

Specht was quoted as saying:

“It was frightening. It was like a submarine heading towards me. I didn’t expect to live,” Specht told media.

He and several mates were surfing more than 100m off Main Beach when a younger boardrider shouted to them about the approaching monster.

“This thing came at me from behind. The other four guys with me, they took off to the beach and left me,” Specht said.

“My first instinct was to paddle out to sea. Then I thought that this is not right, this is exactly what he wants me to do.”

Specht bravely chose to sit quietly on his board and “eyeball” the shark – at least 4m long – as it came close enough to touch.

“He veered off, then he did a U-turn 10m away from me.

“I’m on a six foot three inch board. I’m thinking if he’s going to have a go at me he will eat me. But I thought you’re going to have to eat this board first,” Specht said.

Specht sat motionless on the board as the shark went directly under him, just 1 metre below, on its second pass.

He survived the encounter unscathed.

Sources:

The Courier Mail