INJURED – 30 October 2012 – North Jetty, Humboldt , Eureka, California, USA – surfer bitten

Scott Stevens’ board showing the chunk bitten out of it by a shark. Stevens suffered lacerations to his left torso.

Scott Stevens, 25, suffered serious wounds to his left torso from a shark bite while he was surfing at North Jetty, Humboldt, Eureka, California, United States. The shark is thought to be a great white.

The incident occured on Tuesday 30 October 2012.

He said he was catching waves about 150 metres from fellow surfers at Bunkers, a popular surf spot near Humboldt Bay.

The shark dragged him under the water and shook him around a bit. Stevens then punched the shark several times in the head, which made it release its grip and swim away. He managed to retrieve his board and paddle back to shore, where other surfers helped stem the bleeding and wave down a truck which took him to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to stitch the wounds.

Stevens told the Lost Coast Outpost in a podcast interview:

“I went in the water for a surf about 10am. I had just caught a wave and was paddling back out when the shark came out of nowhere. It grabbed my torso from behind and dragged me underwater and shook me a couple of times.

“I opened my eyes underwater and saw the shark grabbing onto me. I punched it a couple of times in the head and it released me and swam off.

“I recovered my board (the shark had severed the leash)  and managed to paddle to shore on my own.”

Scott Stevens shows where he was bitten by a shark.

He was shouting for help.

“The support of other surfers was amazing. They waved down a truck which took me to hospital. And they put pressure on the wound the whole time to stop bleeding.” One of the surfers actually lay across his torso to put pressure on the wound and stem the bleeding.

He told the Times Standard that when he opened his eyes under water he saw a lot of blood.

“When I reached the beach, I realised how injured I was and how much blood I was losing.”

“I was in shock. I really didn’t feel much, didn’t feel too much pain, until I woke up this morning,” he said.

He said from the time of attack to ER it took about 20 minutes – “An amazing response which helped a lot.”

”Those guys are heroes,” he said.

He said he received lacerations from the top of hip to his upper chest. The surgeon who stitched up the wounds said there were seven to eight deep lacerations, but fortunately the shark did not open the chest cavity and damage any internal organs.

“At the moment it happened I was truly scared for my life. I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not.

“Now I am a little bummed that my surfboard is damaged,” he said from his hospital bed at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California.

Sources:
Lost Coast Outpost – podcast interview
Times Standard
Digital Journal

PIC Source:
Times Standard
Businesswire

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

FATAL – 19 September 2011 — Boucan Canot beach, Reunion – surfer attacked

Boucan Canot beach, Reunion. -- Photo credit: Philippe Amiot

Mathieu Schiller, 32, was dragged off his surfboard while surfing off Boucan Canot beach on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. The attack by a tiger shark reportedly lasted less than 30 seconds. His body was not recovered.

The incident happened on Monday 19 September 2011.

Schiller, a European team body boarding champion in 1995, was surfing with a group of surfers when the attack happened.

Witness report:

There were around 20 people in shallow water and about five surfers out deeper when it happened.

We saw the shark’s nose emerge and then the man just vanished. It was very sudden, then the animal just swam off.

According to other witness accounts the shark circled Schiller before moving in “with terrifying speed”.

Witness report:

I was waiting for a wave with my feet in the water. We saw the shark and the next thing I knew was that he screamed and raised his arm.

We then saw a cloud of red blood in the water where he had been.

Reports differ about what happened next. Some say the surfers then managed to get Schiller, who was suffering from a gaping wound in his leg, back onto his board. One  report says that the shark, which had become frenzied because of blood in the water, returned and hit the surfboard, knocking the victim back into the water. Another report says that a wave hit the board and Schiller fell off and disappeared beneath the surface.

Rescuers in a dinghy searching later for the body reported that a 4 metre bull shark had struck the dinghy trying to overturn it.

Sources:
The Local

EuroSport Yahoo

Mail Online

PIC Source:
The Local