Surfer Chris Blowes,26, lost his leg to a great white shark while surfing near Right Point at Fishery Bay in the Port Lincoln National Park on Saturday.
He was in the water with 12 other surfers when the shark attacked from below. The suspected great white shark bit more than once and severed the surfers leg at mid thigh.
“The shark came in and bit his leg off and the guys helped him in and carried him up the cliff, I was just watching the shark go out to the ocean with his board still attached. Obviously the shark still had his leg and he was still swimming around with it,” an unnamed witness at the scene on the South Australia west coast told The Advertiser.
An onlooker said the shark was around 6 meters (19ft) long.
Fellow surfers tied a tourniquet around the wound to setm the bleeding as they helped him out of the water and carried him up a cliff on a surfboard.
He was taken to Port Lincoln Hospital by car before being medivaced to Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Ambulance services said he had to be resuscitated at one point.
He is currently in critical condition.
His family released the following statement:
“On behalf of the family of Christopher Blowes we would like to thank everyone for all the support and well wishes we have received at this very traumatic time, we are very grateful”
“Currently our sole focus is on our unified, unconditional support and belief towards Christopher’s big fight he has ahead, and we ask that our privacy in being able to provide that is respected at this time.”
“From the bottom of our hearts we wish to thank his inspirational mates who rescued him and got him to safety and all of the wonderful medical professionals both here in Adelaide and in Pt Lincoln who have attended to Christopher.”
Update: Christopher Blowes survived the incident and is surfing again, despite his missing appendage.
The location has been updated on the 2015 shark bites attack tracking map.
