INJURED – 29 April 2017 – Keurbooms, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa – surfer

A 14-year-old boy (name withheld in local media because of his age) sustained minor lacerations to his right calf after he was bitten by a shark while he was surfing with two others at The Waves surf spot on Keurbooms beach, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. The incident took place around 5pm on Saturday 29 April 2017.

 

 

Shark researchers suspect that it was a 2-metre great white shark, going by the size of the bite marks.

He was treated by NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) medics and by paramedics on the scene for lacerations to his right calf before being transported to hospital by ambulance in a stable condition.

According to media reports, the teenager was surfing with two other surfers. At the take-off zone he turned to catch a wave when he saw a fin approaching him; he felt a bump and he felt a bite on his right calf.

He caught a wave to the beach where he was met by his father, who had witnessed the incident, and bystanders who aided and called paramedics.

There had been several sightings of sharks in the bay the day before, prompting the NSRI to issue a warning to surfers and swimmers.

“The increase in shark inshore presence at this time of the year is part of the normal aggregation of these animals. Sharks are aggregating in this area at this time, as they have done in previous years, to take advantage of naturally occurring prey like seals and fish close inshore,” the NSRI said in a statement.

 

Sources:

IOL

News24

Times Live

 

FATAL – 11 October 2013 – The Point, Jeffrey’s Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa – swimmer attacked

Burgert van der Westhuizen, 74, was killed by a shark while swimming off The Point at Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa.

Burgert van der Westhuizen, 74, was killed by a shark while swimming off The Point – the lower section of the long world famous surfing point – at Jeffrey’s Bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. He was as an experienced open-water swimmer who regularly swam along the coastline of Jeffrey’s Bay, according to press reports.

An eyewitness who paddled out in his 5-metre ski to try to retrieve the body said the shark was longer than his ski and kept returning to take bites from the remaining torso. His legs had been severed. He was unable to retrieve the body as the shark eventually took the remains and dived with it.

The sea rescue service said they later found the remains of the body.

The eyewitness said he had just paddled past him when he saw “the shark come and hit him out the water. Right out the water.”

However, this is not clear as further into his account he says someone on the beach told him there had been a shark attack, when he says he paddled out to where the body was and the shark was circling it and taking bites. He then wanted to try lift the torso onto his ski, but the shark grabbed it and dived, which is when he saw the size of the shark. “It was at least five meters. My ski is 5 meters and it was longer than my ski. I thought ‘no this is not good’ and paddled in.”

You can see a video of his witness account here (interspersed with Afrikaans language news commentary).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUV1GrjYXf0

It was not reported what type of shark it was.

Sources:
IBTimes

News24

PIC Source:
JBay News

FATAL – 25 December 2012 – Second Beach, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa – swimmer attacked

Swimmers at Second Beach, Port St Johns, South Africa – the day after the fatal shark attack.

Liya Sibili, 20, was killed by a shark while swimming at Second Beach, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The incident took place on Christmas Day 25 December 2012.

The beach was crowded with holidaymakers for the Christmas vacation. A witness on the beach said he saw the shark swim among the bathers.

“People were trying to get out the water after the lifeguards spotted
something in the water. I saw the tail of something really big grab the boy, the water started boiling and later it went red,” he was quoted as saying.

According to press reports people refused to listen to lifeguards who asked them not to enter the water after the attack. They went back in regardless – while lifeguards continued to search for the body. It was not recovered.

Second Beach is now notorious for fatal shark attacks. There have been seven deadly attacks in the past 7 years. The two previous fatal shark attacks took place on 15 January 2012 (SharkAttackMonitor report) and 15 January 2011 (SharkAttackMonitor report).

There was no report of what type of shark it was and no other details were reported.

Sources:
Daily Disptach

PIC Source:
Daily Disptach

INJURED – 10 October 2012 — Forcados River, Delta State, Nigeria – bather bitten

Torugbene-Ere Aboh, 38, was bitten on the leg by a shark while bathing in the Forcados River in Oboro Community, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria.

Details are a bit sketchy, but she is quoted as saying: “Shortly after I started bathing, I felt a sharp cut on my right leg and I screamed for help. The screaming drew the attention of my brethren who were also in the river and they came to my rescue.

“I was immediately taken to a nearby patent medicine shop, where I was given 12 stitches before I was later taken by my husband,  to a private clinic at Bomadi, for proper medical treatment.”

No other details were reported.

Sources:
Vanguard

INJURED – 5 July 2012 – Jongensfontein, Western Cape, South Africa – surfer attacked

“I couldn’t see the shark directly but I could see its fins thrashing in the water. Its mouth was latched onto the surfboard. I could see some blood sprays but couldn’t tell how badly he was injured.”

A Facebook pic of Jacques Mostert who suffered serious wounds to his leg from a shark attack at Jongensfontein, South Africa

Jacques Mostert, 29, suffered serious bite wounds to his leg when a 4.5 metre shark attacked him while he was surfing at Jongensfontein near Still Bay, Western Cape, South Africa.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he is quoted as saying:

“I was about to get out of the water, only about 15m into the surf, when I saw something swimming past me.

“At first I thought it was a dolphin, but then I realised I was in trouble.

“Then I just felt a hard hit on my side.

“It was as if a crazy dog had bitten into me because it started shaking my leg in the same way.

The shark let go and went under water.

“I managed to get a look at it and saw it was massive.

“I was really scared. I’m very religious, so I believe a calmness came over me and I decided to stop panicking about something I couldn’t change.

“This was when a large wave came and I was able to paddle myself back to shore.

“The shark bit through the ligaments and nerves in the top part of my leg and my knee, so I can’t move my foot. I don’t know how to thank everyone that helped me.”

Mostert’s friends helped him from water

A National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson said Mostert was found on the beach suffering from two serious cuts to his left upper leg and knee. He had lost a large amount of blood, but remained conscious.

He was treated at the scene and then admitted to the intensive care unit of Mossel Bay’s Bayview Hospital where he as reported in a serious but stable condition.

Another surfer who was about 5 metres from Mostert at the time of the attack is quoted as saying:

“We were about 20 to 30m from the shore… I heard screams coming from behind me and… I thought: shark attack.

“I couldn’t see the shark directly but I could see its fins thrashing in the water. Its mouth was latched onto the surfboard. I could see some blood sprays but couldn’t tell how badly he was injured.”

He said the shark then released the board and Mostert, bleeding badly tried to make his way back to the beach on what remained of his board. He said muscle tissue was clearly visible in the deep gash on his thigh.

“He was losing blood fast and something needed to be done or he would’ve died on the beach.”

He and Mostert’s friends used two belts and a torn waterproof vest as a tourniquet, and called for help.

“He was still losing a lot of blood and we wanted to get him to a hospital immediately. We tried to move him on to my board and carry him to my bakkie [pick up truck] but, as soon as we tried to lift him, the blood started gushing out.”

The NSRI arrived 15 minutes later and stabilised Mostert who was then taken by ambulance to hospital.

The species of shark was not confirmed.

Sources:
IOL
The Telegraph

PIC Source:
IOL

UPDATE to FATAL shark attack on surfer at KOEEL BAY, outside Cape Town, South Africa – 19 April 2012

The shark responsible for the attack – shot by Sven Thoresen shortly after the attack and uploaded to Twitter. @sven110975

It was like someone pushed a button to turn the sea from a clear blue to dark red, that’s how quickly he was losing blood from the wound.

David Lilienfeld, 20, was killed by a shark while bodyboarding at Koeel Bay (Kogel Baai), near Cape Town, South Africa. The shark is presumed to be a great white 4-5 metres long. There were two sharks in the area when the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) boat arrived on the scene.

The attack took place at a surf spot called Caves at Koeel Bay in the afternoon of Thursday 19 April 2012.

Lilienfeld was a Springbok bodyboarder and placed 5^th in the South African bodyboarding championships in 2011.

David Lilienfeld surfing at Camps Bay, Cape Town

A witness to the attack said the shark repeatedly attacked Lilienfeld. His leg was severed in the ordeal as he tried to fight off the shark with his bodyboard.

Lilienfled was pulled from the water by his brother. He was confirmed dead on the scene by rescue personnel.

A witness who was had just come in from a surf and was on the beach at the time of the attack told the press the surf was “really fun”. He had gone in and was sitting on the beach when “I saw a huge dorsal fin of a shark surface near to the two bodyboarders, and close in on them.”

He said Lilienfeld tried to fight off the shark by pushing his bodyboard between himself and the great white, but “the shark kept coming back, a second and I think a third time, before it got his leg. It was like someone pushed a button to turn the sea from a clear blue to dark red, that’s how quickly he was losing blood from the wound.”

“I think it took about 8 minutes to get the young bodyboarder to shore, but you could already tell by that time that he’d lost a lot of blood.”

The witness told ZigZag that he had been surfing at Koeel Bay for the past 19 years “but something doesn’t feel right there anymore”.

“I’ve got a feeling I am going to regret coming down to the beach for this surf for a long time. The visual memory of the bodyboarder being attacked is going to be stuck in the back of my mind and although I’ve often surfed Caves alone, I don’t think I will be doing that anymore – at least for a long time to come.”

“It was a horror show. It looked like something from the Jaws movie.”

Chumming debate
A serious debate that has been ongoing for some time about chumming — throwing blood and guts into — the water in the vicinity where the attack took place  to attract sharks for shark cage diving and documentary filming has come to the fore in South Africa following this tragic incident. For more on the debate read this article in ZigZag.

The City of Cape Town released a report of the attack – in an effort to clarify exacty what happened and also weigh in on the chumming debate.
Report and Review of Events at Kogel Bay “Caves” After Great White Shark Attack

Sources:

News24

ZigZag

Wavescape

PIC Source:
Sixty40

Shark pic via ZigZag|
Shot by Sven Thoresen and uploaded to Twitter. @sven110975

FATAL – 19 April 2012 – Caves surf spot, Koeel Bay, Cape Town, South Africa – surfer attacked

Koeel Bay, outside Cape Town, South Africa - the site of a fatal shark attack on a surfer.

A brief report from my friend Quentin Fuller: There has been a fatal shark attack on a surfer at Caves surf spot at Koeel Bay (Kogel Bay) outside Cape Town in South Africa. Details are still a bit sketchy, but is seems it was a great white and another surfer who witnessed the attack told Quentin that the body washed up on the beach.

The attack happened after noon local time (about 2 hours ago) on Thursday 19 April 2012.

We await more details.

PIC source

Global surfers

SCARED – 6 March 2012 (report) – Red Sea – kite boarder fends off sharks

UPDATE

By Polish Press Agency. PAP.

5 March 2012

An interview with Jan Lisewski

Jan Lisewski with Saudi coast guard

You’ve left El Gouna on Friday morning with intention of covering a distance of 200 km and reaching Duba in Saudi Arabia. What had happened, that you send a SOS signal on 5 pm?
I’ve waited for a week in El Gouna near Hurghada for good conditions, for good wind. Such a forecast, for all day, was for 2nd of March. I started in wind of 4 in Bft scale, which has later reach 5 Bft. When there was around 60 km till destination, the wind has suddenly died, just like fire blown from a match. There was no wind, the kite collapsed. After 1,5 hours nothing indicated that the wind will come back. Waves have, however, started to build up. Sun was setting down, so I called SOS. After about 3 hours I called it again.

How did you spend the first night?
In comparison to the second night, this one was peaceful, even though I didn’t think I would it in extreme conditions on the Red Sea. I’ve run out of beverage and I’ve had two liters of energy drink and water with glucose. I’ve earlier eaten two high caloric snack bars, so I had to keep a fast. I’ve drained a little air from tubes and made a raft with my board. During the night, the wind was back. I’ve drifted in the coast direction, but when the wind direction shifter, I was pushed back to the sea. It was like this all over again – one step forward, two steps back. In one moment I was about 30-40 km from shore. When I’ve seen fisherman’s boats I’ve fired a rocket, but they must’ve not seen it, as they didn’t react.

Then the second night…
At first I’ll say that I owe surviving it to my brother Piotr, who forced me to take a knife. Maybe he had some kind of premonition. I was pushed by the wind to the worst place, a reef, where sharks have been preying. They were about 2,5 to 6 meters. They attacked me through my kite, which must’ve also attracted them because of its colour. I stabbed them in the eyes, nose and gills. The fight, which I’ve miraculously survived, took whole night. By the morning, they were gone. There were eleven of them. On Sunday another species have been looking for me. These sharks have circled near my already frayed raft, but they didn’t attack.

Did you have any hope after the second night, that you’ll be found before getting eaten by sharks?
Of course, because hope dies last. It built up in me on Saturday afternoon, when a helicopter flew above me. I was sure that the crew had seen me, because they were waving. I responded, but that was all of our contact. It was similar with a boat. I thought, that it would nearly ram me. Not even close though. Maybe when the sun was shining, in big waves, I couldn’t be seen. In the end I’ve been collected by a military boat, with I think 6 people crew.

You are after tests in hospital in Duba. What are the results?
To doctors’ surprise very good and there has been a lot of tests. My arrival has caused a lot of confusion, but personnel is great. I would like to thank our consul Igor Kaczmarczyk, who has organized everything here, from the morning when he had arrived, and all the people who have been involved in the rescue action. I’ve already drunk several liters of water and juice for their health.

http://kitemovement.com

——————————————————

In a brief report by Reuters and in The Guardian (6 March 2012), Polish kiteboarder – Jan Lisewski – was attempting to kiteboard across the Red Sea from El Gouna in Egypt to Duba in Saudi Arabia (not clear when).

He told Polish state news agency PAP that the wind dropped forcing him to stop as nightfall approached. He set off an SOS beacon, but it took 40 hours for the Saudi Coast guard to find him.

He said he fought off attacking sharks with a knife.

“I was stabbing them in the eyes, the nose and gills,” he said.

This is all that is reported in the English media. If anyone has more info on this – please comment.

Sources:

The Guardian

Reuters

FATAL – 15 January 2012 – Second Beach, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa – surfer attacked

This surfer died after trying to fight off a shark attack at Second Beach, Port St Johns, South Africa

A 25-year-old surfer (name not released) was killed by an unidentified shark while surfing with friends at Second Beach, Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The incident happened about 3pm on Sunday 15 January 2012.

According to a report in the Daily Dispatch the surfer sustained severe injuries to his chest and arms after fighting off the shark  with his surfboard.

According to the report, he fought the shark for at least 5 minutes before being pulled from the water by a surfer and other swimmers. Lifeguards and a doctor at the beach at the time treated his wounds before emergency paramedics arrived. He died on route to hospital.

An eye witness was quoted as saying:

“I saw the fin of the shark and  as I told people to get out of the  water I heard him scream and  within seconds the water had  turned red.”

“He had a surfboard with him and he used it to wrestle off the shark.

“Lifeguards started blowing their whistles, but by that time there was blood everywhere.

“I have never seen so much blood in my life. I am not sure if I will ever be able to swim there again.”

According to the newspaper, the surfer called on others in the water to get out while he tried to fight off the shark with his board.

National Sea Rescue Institute  spokesman said the sea at the time had poor visibility and the water was very warm.

There has been a spate of shark attacks at this beach in the past few years – several of them fatal.

Sources:

Daily Dispatch
IOL

PIC Source
Daily Dispatch

INJURED – 28 October 2011 – uShaka Marine World, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – aquarist bitten

A brief report on South Africa’s East Coast Radio (ECR) quotes Dr Mark Penning,  the CEO of uShaka Marine World in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as saying one of the divers at the marine theme park was bitten on the arm by a ragged tooth shark while doing routine work in the aquarium. The incident happened in the morning of 28 October 2011.

“Luckily he’s a tough guy. He’s in hospital, and he’s being very well looked after,” he said.

“This is not an aggressive shark, it’s not a species of shark that will deliberately go out and hunt a diver, but the animal got scared and it lashed out, and unfortunately his arm was in the way at that time.”

No other details were reported.

Source:
East Coast Radio