World News – This kind of thing does not happen very often but still keeps many out of the water. The movie “Jaws” does not help very much either.
A surfer is fighting for his life in hospital after a shark ripped off his leg in an attack off Western Australia.
Local officials later caught a 15ft great white shark near the site where 29-year-old Ben Gerring was mauled at Falcon, south of Perth, and warned swimmers in the area to stay out of the water.
Mr Gerring was attacked at around 4pm local time on Tuesday. Witnesses described how the surfer had paddled out quite far to catch a big wave when suddenly “all hell broke loose”.
According to local media reports, Mr Gerring’s board was broken in half in the course of the attack, with other surfers only able to find the tail part.
A heavy machinery operator, Australian national Mr Gerring was airlifted to hospital in Perth where he was described on Wednesday as being in critical condition.
Nathan Hondros, a Mandurah Mail reporter who arrived on the scene shortly after the attack, told the Associated Press: “A couple of the guys with longboards brought him in to the shore. So, it was obvious he wasn’t in a good way and they were huddled around and in tears. It was really desperate scenes.
By Adam Withnall, the Independent
