Surfer seriously injured after punching great white shark during vicious beach attack

Great white sharks can grow to a length of more than six metres

A SURFER has been left seriously injured after fighting a great white shark off the Australian coast – just a week after another man died in a fatal attack.

 

Craig Ison suffered wounds to his left leg and hand in the dawn strike at Evans Head, 340 miles north of Sydney.

 

He was taken by ambulance to Lismore Base Hospital in serious but stable condition, police said.

Mr Ison's best friend and fellow surfer Tom Augustine, who missed the attack because he was running late, said: "He punched the shark twice, apparently, and managed to get back on his board and catch a wave in."

 

Officials closed beaches around Evans Head for 24 hours after the attack

 

Geoff Hill, who was surfing with the 52-year-old at the time, revealed that Mr Ison was 100 metres away from the shore when he was attacked.

 

He said: "We were just paddling out, we hadn't even got to the stage of trying to catch a wave and he called out to me, 'Go in, there's a shark!'" Mr Hill said.

 

"Next thing, the shark grabbed him. All I saw was a lot of thrashing in the water and a rather large tail."

 

Great white sharks can grow to more than six metres long and can swim at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

 

It comes a week after diver Damian Johnson, 46, became the second victim of a fatal shark attack in Australia this year when he was mauled off the island state of Tasmania on Saturday.

 

Beaches around Evans Heads were closed for 24 hours following the attack. 

Sharks are common off Australia's beaches, but fatal attacks are rare. The country has averaged fewer than two deadly attacks per year in recent decades.

Mr Ison reportedly punched the shark during the attack in an attempt to escape and during the struggle, was bitten on his left arm.

 

 

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