Shark Attack Roundup: Australia Edition
Attack #1. Jono Beard, Dreamtime Beach, AU. Beard, 31, from Brisbane, was flown to Gold Coast Hospital after he was attacked while surfing on Sunday. He underwent several hours of surgery on the 16″ wide, 4″ deep bite wound. Doctors said he was lucky no major arteries were severed but would need to stay in hospital for about a week. Beaches reopened after extensive aerial searches found there were no sharks in the area.
Attack #2. Hannah Mighall. Baileys Rock near Binalong Bay, Tasmania. Dragged under the water several times by a 15 ft white pointer shark on Sunday. Rescued from the shark by her cousin, Hannah suffered severe lacerations to her leg and is recovering in the hospital. Beaches to reopen on Wednesday.
Attack #3. Steven Fogarty, 24. Lake Illawarra, AU. Attacked Monday while snorkeling. Fogerty was left with about 50 puncture wounds to his calf plus cuts to his right fist, which he had used to punch the shark until it let him go. Beaches along NSW’s south coast were closed for several hours while aerial patrols checked the area for sharks but have since reopened. Fogerty has been released from the hospital.
last death in 93?? wrong we have had severall since 2000.
Can’t stand it when they downplay the attack/death rate. One death in December and 3 attacks in 48 hours says to me there’s a problem.
Markus do you live in Australia?
hey luke, i live in the U.S., but if I ever go to Australia, i don’t think i’ll be going in the water!
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People….watch Sharwater! The stats are there and they are real. Stop living your lives in fear. Only 5 ppl die a year to shark attacks. 1.2 mil die due to car accidents, over a 100 for tigers and bears. We are just scared of what we cannot see and of a creature with sculpted talent.
fyi: soda pop machines kill more ppl than sharks do!
i’m just so scared to get back into the sea. I think i’ll only swim in the swimming pool
The stats are WRONG. Start doing some digging on your own. Whenever someone disappears in the surf, local authorities ALWAYS deem it a “drowning” – unless there are multiple eyewitnesses screaming SHARK! Even if the body turns up chomped and mangled, authorities declare that the damage must have happened after drowning.
Sorry to be stepping on the soapbox, but this situation really ticks me off. The ocean belongs to the creatures that live in it. People are just visitors, and should be better-informed before tromping off into the sea. It’s swim-at-your-own-risk everywhere, and folks should realize that.