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