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Re: 12/17/2007 Ben Morcom (Australia)

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:31 pm
by sharkbait
Shark attack victim says bite 'like being hit by car'

January 06, 2008 12:10am

A South Australian man bitten on the bum by by a two-metre long great white shark north of Newcastle last month says it was "like being hit by a car".

Ben Morcom, 31, has spoken about his brush with death when surfing at Jimmys Beach near Nelson Bay on December 18, revealing he discharged himself early from hospital to attend to bridal party duties for his cousin's wedding.

The attack occurred when Mr Morcom was surfing with cousin Ryan Calder just days before Mr Calder was due to get married, New Idea reports today.

"It all happened very quickly," Mr Morcom said.

"I lay down on my board and began to paddle then suddenly without warning I felt this almighty bang on my right side.

"It was just like being hit by a car."



Although his surfboard bore the brunt of the shark's attack, Mr Morcom suffered severe cuts and deep lacerations.

With a large flap of skin opened up on his right buttock, Mr Morcom made it out of the water to a car park where a fisherman drove him four kilometres to an ambulance station.

From there he was airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.

Against doctors' orders he discharged himself early to attend his cousin's wedding preparations.

"They wanted me to stay a few more days, but I had stuff to do," the South Australian said, adding he was "too keen" to be part of the wedding.

Although he wasn't able to drink alcohol on the big day he said it was still "a pretty special thing".


http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 01,00.html

Re: 12/17/2007 Ben Morcom (Australia)

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:14 am
by sharkbait
Shark attack attracts thousands of net hits

SHARK bite victim Ben Morcom was set to leave hospital on Thursday, and was well on his way to recovering from buttocks lacerations.
Mr Morcom will carry out best man duties at his cousin’s wedding, days after a sudden attack and a painful injury that brought national and international attention to the Great Lakes.

‘Shark bites man on bottom’ was one of the ten most viewed links on the Sydney Morning Herald, Age and Brisbane Times websites. The story made Britain’s highest-selling tabloid The Sun, piqued the interest of The New Zealand Herald and even appeared on Azerbaijan news portal Metbuat.info.

Mr Morcom, a 31-year-old South Australian, was savaged from behind as he, the groom-to-be and another friend sat in the water on surfboards near Hawks Nest on Tuesday. The trio had been surfing The Boulders break before some planned bucks’ celebrations.

In the confusion as Mr Morcom was attacked, his two companions splashed the water frantically to scare the shark away.

“Apparently he just spat him out, like released him, swam under my brother and just headed off,” Andrew Parker, brother of one of the trio, said.

The men found a couple fishing on Jimmys Beach, who rushed Mr Morcom to Tea Gardens Ambulance Station. He was then flown to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for surgery to a “very large flap of skin” that had been sliced open on his right buttock.

The men told police the shark was between two and three metres long, dark in colour and possibly a bull shark. Police scanned the bay several times but the shark was nowhere to be seen.

National Parks Association spokeswoman Valerie Taylor echoed the suspicions of the trio, saying the attack “probably involved an inquisitive bull shark.”

Ms Taylor said increased shark activity is normal around this time of year.

http://tuncurry.yourguide.com.au/news/l ... 52419.html

Re: 12/17/2007 Ben Morcom (Australia)

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:12 am
by sharkbait
Surfer test-dummy for shark

By Neil Keene and Gemma Jones

December 19, 2007 12:00am

A SURFER mauled by a shark yesterday was probably a "test bite" by a maneater blinded in murky water, experts said.

In a warning for beach goers, experts said runoff from heavy rain had made coastal waters so murky sharks were blindly foraging for food.

In yesterday's attack, the second reported in a week, the shark lurched out of the water and latched on to 31-year-old Ben Morcom's lower back at a Port Stephens surf break.

Helicopter rescue paramedic Angela Bosnjak last night described how the shark's teeth left a gruesome 20cm long arc of punctures along the man's back.

"It was in a jaw shape with that perfect semi-circular arch," she said.

Sydney Aquarium shark expert Hamish Tristram warned of a perfect combination for shark attacks.

Murky water, warmer-than- normal sea temperatures of between 21C and 22C and bait fish coming close to shore made for perfect conditions, he said.

"When you get the reduced clarity the sharks are less aware of what is there . . . they wouldn't be able to rule a particular item out so as a result they often do test bites," he said.

A Taronga Zoo spokesman agreed turbidity of the water was a factor in attacks.

"They can't see what they are looking for . . . there is often mistaken identity," he said.

Mr Mrocom was undergoing surgery last night in John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle.

He was attacked at about 10.30am at a break known as The Boulders.

He managed to get to shore where another surfer took him to a local ambulance station before being flown to Newcastle.

Ms Bosnjak was one of the first to speak to the victim - a West Australian in NSW to be best man at a wedding - and she said he recounted how he had felt something strike him from behind.

"He was saying that at first he didn't really know what had happened and that it didn't really start hurting until he turned around and saw his side and thought, 'Oh God what's happened'," she said.

"He was very lucky because it was a deep bite but as far as I know it wasn't deep enough to puncture the abdominal cavity walls or any vital organs."

Hunter Westpac rescue helicopter pilot Mike De Winton said the shark had bitten into the Mr Morcom's surfboard with its lower jaw and into his body with its upper teeth.

"It was a severe laceration but he was conscious and talking when we got there," Mr De Winton said. "He actually seemed quite chatty once he had pain relief."

Fishing tackle shop owner Stewart Paterson said large schools of Australian salmon commonly spotted off the Port Stephens coast attracted great whites.

Only two weeks ago, his granddaughter had been surfing in the same area when a shark passed beneath her to attack a school of salmon.

He added that recent rain had made the water at The Boulders murky.

"You name it, we've got it here," he said.

"Tigers, great whites, bull sharks, hammerheads they've all been sighted recently.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html

Re: 12/17/2007 Ben Morcom (Australia)

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:10 am
by sharkbait
Bum-biting shark savages surfer


December 18, 2007 12:15pm

A MAN is has been airflifted to hospital after being bitten by a shark today.

The 31-year-old is believed to have been surfing at Jimmy's Beach, in the Port Stephens area, when the attack happened, just after 11am.

The seriously injured man was taken by a friend to the Tea Gardens ambulance station, where a rescue helicopter was immediately called.

An ambulance spokeswoman said the man had suffered a serious bite to his bottom, and required urgent treatment.

A Westpac rescue helicopter spokesman said the chopper was en route to the location to collect the man, and take him to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital for emergency surgery.

More to come.

Today's incident comes after a man was apparently lacerated by a shark during a night swim at Bondi in Sydney.


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html

12/17/2007 Ben Morcom (Australia)

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:09 am
by sharkbait
'Help, a shark bit me on the bum'

December 18, 2007 12:34pm


Man walks into an ambulance station
Says 'a shark bit me on the bum'
Airlifted to hospital with a serious bite

A MAN was bitten on the buttock by a shark at a beach on the New South Wales coast today.

The 31-year-old man walked into the Tea Gardens ambulance station just before 11am (AEDT) today seeking treatment for a serious bite wound on the buttock, a spokesperson said.

He told ambulance officers he had been surfing near Jimmys Beach north of Newcastle when he was bitten but did not see the shark that attacked him.

A fisherman drove the injured man to the ambulance station.

The man was treated by paramedics and airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.

Today's incident comes after a man was apparently attacked by a shark during a night swim at Bondi in Sydney, and reports that a shark attacked a kangaroo off Torquay.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22942552-2,00.html