Post by Elly on Jan 24, 2007 0:19:22 GMT 10
Man escapes the jaws of a shark
Jan 23, 2007
An abalone diver has survived a terrifying attack by a shark, which seized him first by the head and then bit into his torso before he fought free of the predator.
Eric Nerhus, 41, was diving with his 25-year-old son and a group of other divers at Cape Howe, near Eden on the NSW south coast, when he was attacked by the three-metre white pointer.
The shark seized Nerhus by the head, crushing his face mask inwards and breaking his nose, said friend and fellow diver Dennis Luobikis.
"He was actually bitten by the head down, the shark swallowed his head," Luobikis said.
Taking a second bite, the white pointer clenched its jaws around his torso, tearing deep lacerations in either side of his body.
Against the odds, Nerhus, a well-known local diver of more than five years' experience, managed to free himself from the shark's jaws, and was pulled back aboard the boat by his son.
Two other young divers in a nearby boat rendered immediate first aid and one radioed his father, who was flying overhead in a spotter plane, to call for emergency help.
The Snowy Hydro Rescue Helicopter arrived airlifted Nerhus to Wollongong Hospital suffering blood loss and shock.
He was in a serious but stable condition.
Luobikis, 53, said it was a miracle his friend had lived to tell the tale.
"Eric is a tough boy, he's super fit," he said.
"But I would say that would test anyone's resolve, being a fish lunch."
"He'd have a better chance of winning the lotto (than surviving that attack), and I think he would have rather done that."
There had been a rash of white pointer sightings in recent weeks thanks to unusually cold waters off Eden, but such an attack was unheard of, Luobikis said.
"I have been a professional diver in Eden for 36 years and I'm not aware of any white pointer attacks in that time," he said.
Rough conditions had deterred many divers from venturing out this morning, Luobikis said.
Swimmers were evacuated from three popular south coast beaches
last week after sharks were spotted during routine aerial patrols.
The white pointer, or great white shark, is the world's largest known predatory fish, with an average length of between four and five metres.
It can grow up to six metres and thrives in colder waters.
Jan 23, 2007
An abalone diver has survived a terrifying attack by a shark, which seized him first by the head and then bit into his torso before he fought free of the predator.
Eric Nerhus, 41, was diving with his 25-year-old son and a group of other divers at Cape Howe, near Eden on the NSW south coast, when he was attacked by the three-metre white pointer.
The shark seized Nerhus by the head, crushing his face mask inwards and breaking his nose, said friend and fellow diver Dennis Luobikis.
"He was actually bitten by the head down, the shark swallowed his head," Luobikis said.
Taking a second bite, the white pointer clenched its jaws around his torso, tearing deep lacerations in either side of his body.
Against the odds, Nerhus, a well-known local diver of more than five years' experience, managed to free himself from the shark's jaws, and was pulled back aboard the boat by his son.
Two other young divers in a nearby boat rendered immediate first aid and one radioed his father, who was flying overhead in a spotter plane, to call for emergency help.
The Snowy Hydro Rescue Helicopter arrived airlifted Nerhus to Wollongong Hospital suffering blood loss and shock.
He was in a serious but stable condition.
Luobikis, 53, said it was a miracle his friend had lived to tell the tale.
"Eric is a tough boy, he's super fit," he said.
"But I would say that would test anyone's resolve, being a fish lunch."
"He'd have a better chance of winning the lotto (than surviving that attack), and I think he would have rather done that."
There had been a rash of white pointer sightings in recent weeks thanks to unusually cold waters off Eden, but such an attack was unheard of, Luobikis said.
"I have been a professional diver in Eden for 36 years and I'm not aware of any white pointer attacks in that time," he said.
Rough conditions had deterred many divers from venturing out this morning, Luobikis said.
Swimmers were evacuated from three popular south coast beaches
last week after sharks were spotted during routine aerial patrols.
The white pointer, or great white shark, is the world's largest known predatory fish, with an average length of between four and five metres.
It can grow up to six metres and thrives in colder waters.
