Did surfer fight off a shark?
November 08 2007 at 12:24PM
By Murry Williams
A teenage surfer is recovering in hospital after he kicked his feet free from the jaws of what appeared to be a shark.
Andrew Smith, 14, who had been surfing with friends at sunset on Wednesday at "The Pipe", the western end of Strand beach, was rushed to Vergelegen Medi-Clinic in Somerset West, where he was treated for lacerations and a severed tendon.
Neither Smith, a Grade 8 pupil at Paul Roos Gymnasium, nor fellow surfers could identify the attacker other than being "big and grey".
If, as seems certain, it was a shark, the incident would be the first recorded shark attack at the Strand in more than 50 years.
Andrew's father, Jimmy, said: "The shark took him from behind … he saw the shark, at one stage it seemed like it was on top of him. He said to me, 'The shark was bigger than I am, and I'm six foot tall.'
"He said he just started kicking and fighting. His leash snapped and it tried to drag him under. But he managed to get his feet out of its mouth. He was very lucky."
Another surfer in the water, Rigard Smit, reported: "We were surfing, there were five or six guys out. I saw something taking him down, lots of splashes."
After Smith freed himself, the shark had attacked his surfboard.
Smith swam to another surfer. "He got on this guy's back and he took him out. He was freaked out … His board was new and he asked, 'How does my board look?' "
Vergelegen Medi-Clinic reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr Jonathan Toogood said: "We operated on him on Wednesday night. He had hundreds of little lacerations toothmarks on his feet and lower legs."
Andrew described the encounter as "very, very scary".
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 ... 440C712145
11/07/2007 Andrew Smith (South Africa)
Shark Attack Survivors News Archive for Shark Attacks in 2007.
Return to “2007 Reported Shark Attacks”
Jump to
- All Years of Reported Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2024 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2023 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2022 Latest Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2022
- ↳ 2021 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attack in 2021
- ↳ 2020 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2019 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2018 Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents 2018
- ↳ 2017 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2017 or Attack
- ↳ 2016 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2016 or Attack
- ↳ 2015 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2015 or Shark Bite
- ↳ 2014 Shark Attacks Latest Recent Shark Attacks 2014 or Attack
- ↳ 2013 Shark Attacks Recent Shark Attacks 2013
- ↳ 2012 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2011 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 2010 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2009 Shark Attack Related Incidents
- ↳ 2008 Shark Attacks ~ Shark Attacks 2008
- ↳ 2007 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2006 Reported Shark Accidents
- ↳ 2005 Reported Shark Incidents
- ↳ 2004 Reported Shark Encounters
- ↳ 2003 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2002 Reported Shark Bites
- ↳ 2001 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 2000 Reported Shark Attacks
- ↳ 1990 - 1999 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1980 - 1989 Shark Attacks and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1970 - 1979 Shark Attack and Related Incidents
- ↳ 1969 and Earlier Shark Attack Incidents