Shark Attacks Fisherman After He Mistakes It For Large Tunaff
29 January 2008
Australia Remember when Jaws made you afraid to go in the water? Now check out a tale that may make you frightened to even be near it. It happened on the east coast of Australia where a man was fishing off a boat on Sunday, when he hooked what he believed was a large tuna.
He didn’t realize until it was far too late that his bait had actually attracted a 200-pound mako shark. As he desperately fought with the fish to reel it in, the 10-foot long creature landed on the deck of the craft, where it suddenly turned on him and bit him on the leg.
â€He stepped on its tail and it whipped around and latched on to his tight calf, biting through to the bone,†explains rescue service spokesman Brian Russell. “The shark had his leg clamped in its jaws for several minutes until other deckhands cut its head off.â€
The crew radioed for help and a helicopter flew in to ferry the stricken 20-year-old for emergency surgery. He’s reported to be in stable condition and paramedics say he’s lucky to be alive because the bite just missed some vital arteries.
The unnamed fisherman may be the first in history to be able to regretfully talk about the one that didn’t get away.
