Woman fights off Great White
2007-10-15 07:26
Sydney - An Australian woman fought
off a Great White Shark on Monday after it knocked her into the
water from her surf ski at a popular tourist beach, police
said.
The woman fended off the 2.5m shark,
suffering lacerations to her right arm, before scrambling back
onto her surf ski and paddling to shore at Byron Bay's famous
surfing beach "The Pass" on Australia's east coast.
"A 52-year-old local woman was paddling her surf ski at The
Pass at Byron Bay when she was knocked from her craft by a
shark," said a police spokesperson.
"The woman fended off the shark ... believed to be a white
pointer. She suffered lacerations to her right arm. She managed
to get back on her ski and paddle to shore."
Police said the woman was taken to hospital, boats were
patrolling the area looking for the shark and people had been
advised not to go into the water.
Sharks, even Great Whites, are protected in Australia.
An Australian abalone diver miraculously escaped a Great
White Shark attack in January after the shark half-swallowed
him head first. The diver's lead weight vest saved his life by
stopping the shark's teeth from biting him in half and the
shark then released the diver.
Australia had six shark attacks in 2006, according to the
US-based International Shark Attack File. There were 62 shark
attacks worldwide in 2006.
- Reuters