Fellow surfers came to the rescue of a man attacked by a white shark in Australia.
Phil Mummert, 28, was hitting the waves off Bunker Bay beach in Western Australia July 31.
Around 2 p.m. an estimated 13-foot (4m) white shark struck the surfer and smashed his board into pieces.
Mummert was left bleeding from large lacerations on his leg and stuck in the water with no board.
Several surfers saw the incident unfold and quickly paddled over to assist the injured local man.
“I honestly don’t know how a person can see a total stranger getting attack by a 4m great white shark and swim TOWARDS [the person] to save him”, Mummert’s girlfriend Mish Wright wrote on Facebook.
The Good Samaritans carried the injured surfer back to the beach and administered first aid
“So thankful for everyone who carried him to shore and for the ones that held his leg together for half and hour while waiting for the ambulance,” Wright wrote.
Mummert was flown to the hospital where he received care for several long lacerations down his leg. It appears that the large shark only grazed the surfers leg.
The location has been marked on the 2020 Shark Attack Map.
A bodyboarder was killed by a shark at Bunker bay in 2011.
Kyle Burden, 21, was boarding with a friend and three other surfers about 50 meters from the beach at a small break known as The Bone Yards Sept. 4. Around 1:30 p.m. a surfer near Burden spotted a large dark shadow pass underneath him and thought it was a dolphin. A few moment later the shark attacked and bit Mr. burden in half.
Surfers attempted a rescue, but were only able to retrieve his upper body.
Several white sharks had been observed in the area. It is thought they had been brought by pods of whales and dolphins that had been in the area recently. The area was described as dark and gloomy that day, with light rain and lots of seals in the area.
Sharks will often feed on seals and its best to avoid areas where seals and other pinnipeds swim.
