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10/30/2010 Elyse Frankcom ( Australia )

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alb
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Re: 10/30/2010 Elyse Frankcom ( Australia )

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Hero snorkeller 'grabbed shark's tail' to stop attack

FOUGHT BACK: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom, left, with her sister Samantha. She was mauled by a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island but managed to punch it on the nose. Source: PerthNow
FOUGHT BACK: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom, left, with her sister Samantha. She was mauled by a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island but managed to punch it on the nose. Source: PerthNow
FOUGHT BACK: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom, left, with her sister Samantha. She was mauled by a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island but managed to punch it on the nose. Source: PerthNow
RELUCTANT HERO: A man, believed to have heroically grabbed the attacking shark by the tail, leaves the jetty at Rockingham. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow
RELUCTANT HERO: A man, believed to have heroically grabbed the attacking shark by the tail, leaves the jetty at Rockingham. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow
RELUCTANT HERO: A man, believed to have heroically grabbed the attacking shark by the tail, leaves the jetty at Rockingham. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow
MIRACLE ESCAPE: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom has fought off a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island. Source: PerthNow
MIRACLE ESCAPE: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom has fought off a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island. Source: PerthNow
elyse_frankcom-2.jpg (14.92 KiB) Viewed 20148 times
MIRACLE ESCAPE: Dive instructor Elyse Frankcom has fought off a 3m great white shark while snorkelling off Garden Island. Source: PerthNow


A COURAGEOUS man has been hailed a hero after he pulled the tail of a shark as it savaged a young tour guide on a snorkelling expedition near Rockingham.

Rescuers praised the man's brave actions, saying they had undoubtedly saved the woman from suffering further injuries in the jaws of the ocean predator, believed to be a 3m great white shark.

Nineteen-year-old Elyse Frankcom had been hosting a swim-with-the-dolphins tour for Rockingham Wild Encounters when the shark bit into her hip and left buttock at 12.30pm.

Late Saturday night Miss Frankcom was in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital, where she had undergone surgery.

The attack occurred off the north end of Garden Island Naval Base.

It comes only 10 weeks after Busselton surfer Nick Edwards was killed by a great white off Gracetown in WA's South-West.

And the attack happened in an area just 35km north of Port Kennedy, where father-of-three Brian Guest was mauled to death while snorkelling with his son in December 2008.

The hero calmly walked off the tour boat when it returned to shore and was too modest to stop for a media interview.

``All I want is the girl to be okay,'' he said.

Recovering in Royal Perth Hospital

Ms Frankcom was recovering in Royal Perth Hospital.

Her older sister, Samantha, said doctors initially said she would not require surgery.

``Elyse is in high spirits. She should be okay to leave hospital tomorrow,'' she said.

Samantha said her younger sister would definitely return to the water, despite the brush with death.

``She loves the water. You can't tear her away from it,'' she told The Sunday Times.

``This won't scare her away. She will definitely go back. It's been a passion for her since she was a child.''

The 19-year-old diver recently commented on shark attacks on her Facebook page.

``If I get attacked or die, at least I die happy and doin (sic) the thing I love,'' she said.

Her parents formerly operated a scuba diving business in Mandurah.

``My sister was training to become a `dolphin girl' for the dive tours,'' Samantha Frankcom said.

``Her job would be to find the dolphins and bring them to the surface for people to swim with.''

Rescuer praised 'hero' who grabbed shark's tail

Fremantle Sea Rescue senior skipper Frank Pisani, one of the first rescuers on scene, said the shark attack could
have been fatal if not for the heroics of one of the male passengers.

``As the shark bit her, it brushed aside a fairly large male who grabbed hold of the tail of the shark, which then made it let go,'' Mr Pisani said.

``The girl then started to sink to the bottom and he grabbed her and brought her to the surface and got her back on board the boat. He certainly was instrumental in making this a good outcome.''

Mr Pisani said there was a paramedic on the boat, but no first-aid equipment, so sea rescue volunteers worked to stabilise Ms Frankcom.

``We used all our first-aid equipment and did all we could to stem the bleeding before the RAC rescue helicopter arrived,'' he said.

``There were very deep puncture wounds, quite wide but there was no actual loss of flesh.''

Ms Frankcom was taken to HMAS Stirling base, where she was treated by naval medics before being airlifted to RPH.

Rescuers said Ms Frankcom, who remained conscious after the attack, told dive boat operators and first-aiders that she believed the shark was a great white.

It is understood Ms Frankcom is a videographer and tour guide with Rockingham Wild Encounters, which operates the Apollo 3 charter.

Rockingham Wild Encounters operations director Aaron Heath said Ms Frankcom was one of two crew members who were wearing shark shields, which are designed to repel attacks using electronic impulses.

She had recently praised the shields on her Facebook page, saying: ``The ocean is a beautiful place and you feel so much safer knowing one genius was able to invent an incredible piece of technology to help enjoy it with more peace.''

Mr Heath said the actions of the guest in distracting the shark were nothing short of amazing.

``They've been swimming in quite shallow water about 7m of water. They had two dolphins right by Elyse's side and we believe this shark has come in from the bottom and grabbed hold of her,'' he said.

Mr Heath said that Elyse was more worried about a child in the diving group than her own safety.

``Apparently, she was also bragging that she punched the shark in the nose,'' he said.

Thirty-three people, including three children, were on board at the time.

As the group disembarked, one of the passengers said: ``It was a bit scary at the time but we're just glad everyone is OK''. Other passengers were too distressed to comment.

Children boating at the nearby Cruising Yacht Club of WA were evacuated from the water and news of the shark attack spread. Water police warned swimmers and boaties that a shark had been lurking.

Water Police operations supervisor Lou Hynd said two water police boats had been working the area one dealing with the victim and another warning people around Garden and Carnac islands about the attack.

Mr Hynd said it appeared Ms Frankcom had just duck-dived down and a shark, about 3m long, bit into her left buttock. She was conscious the whole time, he said.

Department of Fisheries regional manager Tony Cappelluti said aerial searches would be conducted to find the shark and fisheries vessels would remain on standby today.

``As we know these animals can move fairly large distances in a short amount of time so unless we re-sight them from the air, running around in boats may not be too productive,'' Mr Cappelluti said.

``We know that from experience, even though they are up close, they're very hard to see because of the angle and the sun and the glare.''

``In an hour they could be quite a distance away, a few kilometres or even tens of kilometres - 2km or 3km an hour so they could be over 70km away in a 24-hour period.''


http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western ... 5945532991
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alb
Posts: 1569
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:41 pm

10/30/2010 Elyse Frankcom ( Australia )

Post by alb »

A 20-year-old woman is set to undergo surgery after she was attacked by a three-metre shark while diving off Perth's coast.


Tour guide attacked by shark in WA

By Claire Krol

The woman was attacked in the waters off the Garden Island jetty. (ABC Local Radio: Jonathon Gifford)

A 20-year-old woman is set to undergo surgery after she was attacked by a three-metre shark while diving off Perth's coast.

The tour guide and videographer was attacked while taking part in a charter on the eastern side of Garden Island, about 50 kilometres from Perth.

The boat was anchored about 300 metres east of Ammunition Jetty when the shark bit the woman's left buttock. It is understood she remained conscious in the aftermath of the attack.

Rockingham Wild Encounters operator Terry Howson witnessed the attack.

"We're still sort of coming to grips with what has happened, but it looks like they have been swimming in quite shallow water, about seven metres of water, they had two dolphins right by [her] side and we believe that the shark has come in from the bottom," he said.

Department of Fisheries spokesman Tony Cappelluti says it is yet to be determined exactly what type of shark it is.

"The latest report is possibly a three-metre whaler shark," he said.

"Earlier reports indicated it could have been a white pointer but they could not be sure. But the latest description with a blunt nose suggests it wasn't a white pointer, possibly a whaler species."

Mr Cappelluti says the woman was the woman was first taken to HMAS Stirling, located at a nearby naval base for treatment.

"It's my understanding the medics there provided her with some treatment and then she was was flown to Royal Perth Hospital," he said.

He says authorities spent much of the afternoon trying to locate the shark.

"The Surf Life Saving helicopter was dispatched area to search for the shark my understanding there were no further sightings," he said.

"Because the shark wasn't resighted our boat was required and I am not sure about our operation for tomorrow but I would suggest the helicopter will be up again.

"It will probably keep a watching brief on the area and we will be ready to respond with the water police if need be."

The site of the attack is just kilometres from where 51-year-old Brian Guest was taken by a large great white as he dived in December 2008.

And in August this year, Busselton man Nick Edwards, 31, was killed by a shark when he was surfing at Gracetown beach, south of Perth.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 052767.htm
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