“By the time I got out there half of him had been taken and the shark was circling.”
Ben Linden, 24, died from his wounds after being attacked by a shark while surfing about 4 km south of Wedge Island, north of Lancelin, Western Australia. The incident happened around 9am on 14 July 2012.
Linden was reportedly with a friend when the attack happened. The attack is believed to be by a great white shark.
A Fisheries Department spokesperson was quoted as saying:
“The two people were in the water surfing or waiting for a wave when the victim was attacked by a shark.”
He said two other surfers, one on a jet ski and the other being towed came over to help when they saw a commotion in the water.
He said the man’s friend and the others surfers were not in a position to help and went back to shore and contacted the police.
He said Linden’s body was not recovered.
The guy on the jetski was quoted as saying:
“I was towing my mate on the back of the jetski and in front of us I just saw a guy get attacked by a shark and I just took my mate straight to the shore and went straight out and there was just blood everywhere and a massive, massive white shark circling the body.
“By the time I got out there half of him had been taken and the shark was circling.
“I tried to lean off the side and pull him on the back, but as I did that, the shark came back and nudged the jet ski to try to knock me off.
“When I came back the second time, he took the rest of him. I just thought about his family and if he had kids. I just wanted to get him to shore. I gave it everything I had.”
Sources:
Illawarra Mercury
Daily Telegraph
PIC Source:
Daily Telegraph