Shark Attacks and Shark Attack Related Incidents News Articles on Shark Bites

Surfer taken off critical list
07/04/2004 08:45 - (SA)

Cape Town - The 16-year-old surfer who lost his right leg in a shark attack on Monday, was no longer listed as critical, but was still in a serious condition, the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Gail Ross said John Paul Andrew's condition was "more stable" than on Tuesday. Doctors were "very happy" with his progress. However, he was still heavily sedated.

National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Ian Klopper said on Monday that Andrew had been surfing with a group of friends at Muizenberg beach when he was bitten by a Great White shark just before 14:00.

His board was broken in half and his right leg was bitten off, Klopper said. Andrew's friends helped him to shore and lifesavers carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Paramedics then took him to the hospital.

The five to five-and-a-half metre long shark was spotted in area on Sunday, before the attack occurred.

Surfer remains unconscious
06/04/2004 09:46 - (SA)

Cape Town - The 16-year-old surfer who lost his right leg on Monday in a shark attack at Muizenberg Beach in Cape Town, was still in a critical but stable condition on Tuesday.

John Paul Andrew was rushed to the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic after the attack. Hospital spokesperson Gail Ross said Andrew was being kept under heavy sedation because he was on a ventilator. She did not know when he would be allowed to regain consciousness.

"His body has been through enormous trauma, so we will have to wait and see how he reacts," she said. "But he is young and strong and we are very positive."

NSRI spokesperson Ian Klopper said on Monday that Andrew had been surfing with a group of friends when he was bitten by the shark just before 14:00.

"His board was broken in half and his right leg was amputated," Klopper said.

Andrew's friends helped him to shore and lifesavers carried out CPR. Paramedics then took him to the hospital.

"The conditions were exactly the same as those at Noordhoek during the last attack there... glassy, small waves. Lifesavers were warning surfers about the shark, which was spotted on Sunday afternoon. It is about five or five-and-a-half metres long."

Andrew underwent surgery on Monday night to repair the damage to his leg.

Shark attack: JP speaks to mom
15/04/2004 22:21 - (SA)

Elsabé Brits


Cape Town - John-Paul Andrew, the 16-year-old who lost a leg in a shark attack last week, said a few words and smiled at his mother on Thursday for the first time since the accident.

At a media conference at Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic, his parents, Robert and Estelle Andrew, his sister, Natasha, relatives and doctors told of the rescue operation that took place after JP was attacked.

Robert Andrew said police had found his son's leg four days after the attack at Surfers Corner, Muizenberg, on a beach at Gordon's Bay.

The chewed-off leg was still attached to the surfboard leash.

When asked to comment on the feeding of sharks in False Bay - to attract tourists - Robert Andrew said he was aware of the practice, but had not researched it.

"I am not angry at anyone. It is more important for us that our son lives and recovers."

Took four days to stabilise him

The family was full of praise for the teenager's friends on the beach, lifesavers, paramedics and doctors.

Dr Digby de Villiers, a surgeon, said however, there had been an increase in shark attacks. In recent times, there had been three.

Jay Mitchell, 17, a fellow surfer who saw the attack on JP and then pulled him out of the water, said he had gone back into the water, but not in Muizenberg.

"I am too scared," he said.

After the attack, paramedics worked on the teenager's heart for 20 minutes after he went into cardiac failure.

It took doctors four days to stabilise his condition, said physician Derek Miller.

Because of the extended shock, JP had a shortage of blood to the brain, causing it to swell, which created pressure. To ease this, JP was heavily sedated.

However, the pressure started easing on Wednesday and doctors were able to reduce sedation, said Miller.

Only in a few days will doctors be able to determine whether JP has had any brain damage.

Shark survivor now crash victim

January 22 2009 at 12:12PM
By Leila Samodien
A local shark bite victim, who lost his right leg in a 2004 attack, has had a narrow escape while driving which he says could have cost him his limb had it been there.

Almost five years ago, JP Andrew, 21, was attacked by a great white shark at Muizenberg Beach while out surfing. He lost his leg from the thigh down and has walked on crutches ever since.

He had another close call recently when a motorist slammed into the driver's side of his car.

On November 12, he was driving towards the city centre on the M3 when a car skipped a stop street near the Searle Street turn-off and slammed into his Honda.

"The whole door caved in," he said.

"If I did have a leg, it would have been a goner."

He had narrowly avoided injury because the door had only dented inwards where his leg would have been. Nobody else involved was seriously injured in the accident.

Although Andrew has accepted the driver's apology, he and his father, Robert, have been tangled up in a dispute with the driver's insurance company, Santam, and its outsourced middleman company, Innovation Group, for more than two months now.

Andrew claimed his car, which had been specially adapted to accommodate his disability, had incurred damages of around R30 000.

Initially, Innovation Group offered him only R7 000 for the damages.

In an email, it claimed that Andrew was not exempt from blame because he was responsible for being aware on the road.

When the Andrews brought in their lawyer, Basil Coutsoudis, Innovation Group changed their offer to R17 000.

The Andrews refused to accept this offer since they could not afford to pay for the rest of the damages.

"For two months I couldn't go anywhere because I didn't have a car. It was the first time since I was bitten that I've ever felt disabled," said Andrew.

However, the matter finally came to some conclusion this week, when Innovation Group reviewed their offer as a result of queries by the Cape Argus.

Innovation Group legal department operational manager Rene van Schalkwyk said they had reviewed the matter and found that the liability of the other driver was higher than initially assessed.

They had, therefore, decided to award Andrew R29 609.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1 ... 701C314041

Great White rips off boy's leg
05/04/2004 19:14 - (SA)

Cape Town - A 16-year-old boy was in critical condition on Monday after a Great White shark bit off part of his leg in an attack near Muizenberg, officials said.

The teenager was attacked while surfing, said Vaughan Seconds of the National Sea Rescue Institute.

"Lifeguards said they noticed that something was wrong when they saw half of the boy's board being tossed into the air," said Seconds.

"They pulled him out of the water and when I got to him I saw that his right leg had been completely bitten off and that he had bite marks on his remaining leg. By then he had already lost a lot of blood," he added.

The surfer was rushed to hospital where he suffered cardiac arrest twice during a delicate operation to save what remained of his leg, said hospital manager Clive Lake.

He added that the teenager was in a critical condition.

According to the University of the Western Cape, there are an average of three shark attacks annually in South Africa. Sharks are regularly spotted, but attacks rarely occur.

Seconds said a patrolling helicopter had spotted the shark a short while after the attack and it had been identified as a 3.5m-long Great White.

The last fatal shark attack in Cape Town was in September 2003, when a teenage surfer bled to death after being bitten by a shark.

4/5/2004 John Paul Andrew 16 Leg severed Muizenberg Western Cape Province
South Africa Surfing 2:00:00 PM
5m white shark