"Shark Attack Survivors News Archive"

06/06/2010 Michael Bedford ( Australia )

Recent listing of shark attacks 2010 and Shark Attack Related Incidents in 2010.
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sharkbait
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Re: 06/06/2010 Michael Bedford ( Australia )

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Australian surfer survives shark attack
A man surfing off the coast of West Australia has survived after being attacked twice by a "bloody big" shark.


Published: 7:00AM BST 07 Jun 2010
Fewer great white sharks are left in the oceans than there are tigers surviving on Earth Photo: PHOTOLIBRARY

Michael Bedford, 40, was in a stable condition in hospital after he was rescued from the surf by a friend and some fishermen.

He was knocked off his board by the shark, believed to be a great white, which then circled him before attacking again and biting him on the right leg.

The attack took place in the middle of the day at Conspicuous Cliff beach near the town of Walpole.

Lee Cummuskey, a local tourism operator, had been surfing with Mr Bedford just minutes before the attack.

"We had both been out surfing, I had only just come in, I had broken my leg rope and had to swim in," Mr Cummuskey told the West Australian newspaper.

"I just sort of got to the beach and was only on the beach for a minute and I was keeping my eye on Mick, because he was a long way out and on his own.

"And bang I saw the hit, I didn't really see the fish ... I could just see this explosion of water and I knew straight away what had happened."

Mr Cummuskey said Mr Bedford spotted the shark when it was 20m away and racing "straight for him".

"He thought it was just going to go under him but it suddenly came up and hit him ... and I think that is when it bit him. It hit him once and then came back a second time. He thought it was a white pointer, he is not totally sure but he said it had a bloody big head on it."

Mr Bedford is believed to have punched the shark before riding a wave into the shallows.

He was suffering from shock and had a deep gash in his right knee, which witnesses described as a "pretty horrendous wound".

Once he was back on the beach a make-shift rescue operation swung into action. Using his surfboard as a stretcher, it took eight people to carry Mr Bedford along the beach and 300m up a steep hill to the carpark. While the group waited 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive, they used a shirt and towel to apply pressure to the leg and fashioned a surfing leg-rope into a tourniquet. A fishing tackle box was used as a pillow and they elevated Mr Bedford's leg on a cooler box.

When the paramedics arrived, Mr Bedford was given pain-killing medication before being transferred to hospital.

Police were last night waiting to talk to him about his experience in the hope of identifying the species which attacked him but the area is a known hot-spot for white pointers.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ttack.html
sharkbait
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Re: 06/06/2010 Michael Bedford ( Australia )

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sharkbait
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06/06/2010 Michael Bedford ( Australia )

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Mr Bedford says he saw the shark from 20 metres away before it knocked him off his board and bit his leg.

Shark attack victim thanks rescuers
Updated 1 hour 55 minutes ago

Michael Bedford says he is incredibly grateful for the people who came to his aid.
Michael Bedford says he is incredibly grateful for the people who came to his aid.
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Michael Bedford says he is incredibly grateful for the people who came to his aid. (ABC TV)



Michael Bedford was treated for deep wounds to his right knee and shock after the attack which happened at Conspicuous Cliffs 15 kilometres east of Walpole yesterday afternoon.

Mr Bedford was rescued by a fellow surfer and a group of local fishermen who were able to tie a tourniquet around his leg before the ambulance arrived.

Mr Bedford says he is incredibly grateful for the people who came to his aid.

"I really would like to thank everybody that was there," he said.

"I don't know the names or anything but the human spirit just - they were just so strong and really helped me out. It was a really big effort on their behalf. I weigh quite a bit and they carried me all up those stairs, along the beach."

Mr Bedford says he saw the shark from 20 metres away before it knocked him off his board and bit his leg.

He says the shark hit him with incredible power.

"It happened that quickly, I'm not sure if I turned the board or tried to get my leg out the water - but next thing I knew I was getting lifted out of the water - was getting hit by the shark."

Mr Bedford says he will not be going back into the water any time soon.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... ion=justin
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