"Shark Attack Survivors News Archive"

04/08/2008 Peter Edmonds (Australia) ***Fatal***

Worldwide Reported Shark Attack Related Incidents in 2008.
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sharkbait
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Re: 04/08/2008 Peter Edmonds (Australia) ***Fatal***

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Shark terror gong for Pete's best friend
Maria Lewis

July 29th, 2008

MORE than three months after Wollongbar teenager Brock Curtis-Matthew tried to save his best mate from being mauled by a shark, there is little doubt in anyone's mind that he is a hero.

In recognition of his efforts, the Royal Lifesaving Society is presenting Brock with a bravery award which is to be given to him at Government House in Sydney by the Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir.

Brock's mother, Victoria Matthew, told The Bulletin yesterday that her son was surprised when he heard about the award.

"He said 'Mum, it's pretty cool but I'd give it up to have Peter back'," she said. "I was really, really proud of him ... I can't even describe what he's been through.

"What he did was an incredible thing but we all miss Peter a lot.

"He's just a normal kid who did something pretty amazing."

On a Tuesday morning, April 8, Brock was surfing with fellow Alstonville High Scool Year 11 student Peter when the friend who introduced him to surfing was attacked by what is thought to have been a big bull shark.

After seeing his mate wave for help, Brock re-entered the surf and paddled through the bloodied water in a bid to rescue Peter.

Brock managed to get Peter to shore, began CPR and called for help on his mobile phone.

Despite the best efforts of emergency services, Peter was pronounced dead on the beach as a result of two large shark bites.

The attack occurred about 70m from shore, just north of the Richmond River wall at Lighthouse Beach.

Northern NSW Lifeguard co-ordinator Stephen Leahy was in charge of the beaches at the time of the incident and has been involved in several recent patrols after sightings of large sharks throughout the Ballina area over the past three months.

Mr Leahy said he was glad Brock was receiving formal recognition for his efforts.

"To witness something like that would be absolutely horrendous and obviously my heart really does go out to this young fellow who did everything possible to save his friend," he said.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/200 ... -news.html
sharkbait
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Re: 04/08/2008 Peter Edmonds (Australia) ***Fatal***

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'They've lost their baby'
Peter Edmonds Shark Attack Victim and (left) friend Brock
Peter Edmonds Shark Attack Victim and (left) friend Brock
peter-edmonds1.jpg (32.18 KiB) Viewed 20118 times
16-year-old victim Peter Edmonds and (left) his friend Brock.
Photo: Channel Ten News

They (her parents) are not coping very well. They lost their baby - what more can you say?

The only boy in the family ... and he was such a good kid.Latest related coverage

Shark attack: teen dead

Bull shark likely culprit

Audio: Coast guards saw shark victim

April 8, 2008 - 5:05PM

The sister of a boy killed in a shark attack in northern NSW says her family is devastated at the loss of "their baby".

Peter Edmonds, 16, was fatally attacked by a large shark while bodyboarding at Ballina's Lighthouse Beach in northern NSW this morning.

The boy, from Wollongbar, west of Ballina, died after being bitten twice on the left leg about 8am.

His 20-year-old sister Kylie Edmonds said the family is finding it hard to cope with the sudden loss.

"I'm numb. I don't know what to do," she said.

"They (her parents) are not coping very well. They lost their baby - what more can you say? The only boy in the family."

"And he was such a good kid.''

Ms Edmonds said her brother was "the best brother you could ask for''.

"He was fun, he was loving, he just wanted to cuddle people,'' she said.

"He was a really friendly guy. He just did everything for everybody. He just wanted to hang out with his mates and surf and have a good time.''

Peter's bodyboarding companion, Brock Curtis, helped his friend back to shore following the shark attack.

Brock said he saw a "big, grey shadow'' pass by him as he paddled toward his stricken friend but was not afraid as he did not know what it was.

"In the water I was in line with him (Peter) and noticed that he was in a bit of trouble,'' he said.

"As I headed towards him it looked like he was catching a wave and was heading back to shore.

"Then I saw him on his back with his head above the water so then he turned so he was face down.

"I thought he was only joking, so I went over to him and as I flipped him over I saw his leg.''

Brock said he tried in vain to resuscitate Peter after dragging him to shore.

"He didn't make one noise,'' he said.

Brock said the pair had been close friends for five years, since the start of high school, and described Peter as the "best guy''.

Ms Edmonds said her brother had been surfing for years but had never had any problems in the water before.

Another sister, 19, was in England on a five-month holiday and was trying to get a flight home, she said.

AAP

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/04/ ... 78819.html
sharkbait
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Re: 04/08/2008 Peter Edmonds (Australia) ***Fatal***

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Shark kills teen surfer, family mourns

Email Print Normal font Large font April 8, 2008 - 6:47PM

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A teenage surfer braved bloodied waters to drag his dying 16-year-old friend to shore after he was mauled by a shark off the NSW north coast.

But Brock Curtis's courage proved in vain, as he watched his mate Peter Edmonds die from massive blood loss on a beach at Ballina.

The shark struck about 8am (AEST) as the two 16-year-old friends took advantage of a teachers' stop-work meeting to go bodyboarding at Ballina's popular Lighthouse Beach.

Peter Edmonds, from Wollongbar west of Ballina, was bitten twice on the left leg as the large shark loomed out of murky water close to the entrance to the Richmond River.

Brock said when he saw his mate in trouble, he paddled out to him.

"As he approached him he saw the water was beginning to turn red," Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman Stephen Leahy said later.

Brock told AAP he saw a "big, grey shadow" pass by him but still paddled toward his stricken friend.

He was not afraid because he did not know what it was.

"In the water I was in line with him (Peter) and noticed that he was in a bit of trouble," he said.

"As I headed towards him it looked like he was catching a wave and was heading back to shore.

"Then I saw him on his back with his head above the water so then he turned so he was face down.

"I thought he was only joking, so I went over to him and as I flipped him over I saw his leg."

Brock dragged Peter to shore and tried in vain to resuscitate him, only for him to die of blood loss.

"He didn't make one noise," he said.

Brock, also from Wollongbar, said the pair had been close friends for five years, since the start of high school.

He said Peter was the "best guy".

Peter Edmonds' distraught family spoke later of the death of "their baby".

"I'm numb. I don't know what to do," his 20-year-old sister Kylie Edmonds said from the family home.

"He was such a good kid.

"He was a really friendly guy. He just did everything for everybody. He just wanted to hang out with his mates and surf and have a good time."

Peter's father Neil Edmonds said it was hard to believe his son had died from seemingly minor injuries.

"We saw the bite on his leg and you wouldn't think that sort of thing would take someone," he told Network Ten.

Detective Inspector Steve Clark praised Brock for going to his friend's aid and said he would be considered for a bravery medal.

"It was an extreme act of bravery to re-enter the water and he's still gone in to retrieve his friend, it's exceptional," Insp Clark said.

Authorities do not yet know what type of shark was involved in the attack, but one expert, Taronga Zoo's John West, said it was probably a bull shark.

The manager of the Ballina Beach Resort, close to the site of the attack, said bull sharks had been seen recently in North Creek, near the Richmond River estuary.

"A local fisherman saw four of five of them," the manager, Sharon, told AAP.

"They are hunters," she said of the bull sharks.

The website marinebio.org says the bull shark is a massive and fearsome shark up to 3.5 metres long with saw-edged upper teeth.

Surfers using Ballina's Lighthouse Beach are warned that sharks are attracted to the mouth of the nearby Richmond River.

Mr West said following recent heavy rain, nutrients flushed out of the river would have attracted schools of fish, in turn bringing sharks to the area.



http://news.theage.com.au/shark-kills-t ... -24h1.html
sharkbait
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04/08/2008 Peter Edmonds (Australia) ***Fatal***

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Surfer killed by shark off NSW coast

A 16-year-old surfer has died after being attacked by a shark off the NSW north coast.

The boy died at North Wall Beach at Ballina after suffering large bites to the leg and body, a Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman says.

The attack took place around 8.30am (AEST) while the boy was bodyboarding with a friend.

"Basically we know that shortly after eight o'clock this morning, two boys were surfing, or bodysurfing on bodyboards, adjacent to the North Wall at Ballina," Surf Life Saving spokesman Stephen Leahy told AAP.

"Shortly after eight o'clock one of the boys indicated that he was in trouble to his mate, his mate went over to help and found that he had been attacked.

"He brought him up on to the shore, but unfortunately the boy died due to his injuries."

Mr Leahy said all beaches in Ballina had been closed as a precaution.

Another Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman, Craig Roberts, said the boy suffered two large bites, one to the leg and one to the body.

The shark had not been spotted since, and crews were out looking for it.

"The patient came in with another gentleman and lifeguards attended the scene," Mr Roberts told ABC radio.

"As you can imagine it was quite a distressful situation.

"He was unconscious and the lifeguards and ambulance officers had some severe haemorrhage to deal with."

Mr Roberts said lifeguards performed well in the traumatic situation.

"Certainly it's one of those things that you're trained for but hopefully it never happens as well," he said.

"The lifeguards did an excellent job and worked with the ambulance and the police service, but obviously it is a traumatic experience."

The boy was surfing 50 metres out from shore at the time of the attack, he said.

Reports that a second man was attacked but survived have not been confirmed.

Mr Roberts said the beach was normally patrolled, but crews had not started patrolling for the day.

Surfers' websites say North Wall beach, just north of the Richmond River estuary, is popular, but they warn of the danger from sharks.

However Mr Roberts said it was not common for sharks to be present off North Wall beach at this time of year.

"Earlier on in the year there was a very heightened risk in the Byron (Bay) area in which we put some additional measures with jet skis and helicopters in the area," he said.

"But at this time of year it's generally not a high prone (high prone) season for the sharks."

Lifesavers will get a full report on the incident at 9.30am (AEST).

The manager of the Ballina Beach Resort, close to the site of the attack, said bull sharks had been seen recently in North Creek, near the Richmond River estuary.

"A local fisherman saw four of five of them," the manager, Sharon, told AAP.

"They are hunters," she said of the bull sharks.

The website marinebio.org says the bull shark is a massive and fearsome shark with saw-edged upper teeth, up to 3.5 metres long.

The National Geographic website says attacks attributed to great white sharks may often in fact have been attacks by bull sharks.

A spokesman for the Australian Volunteer Coastguard said it was the organisation's policy to make no comment on any incidents in which it was involved.

Police said the boy who died was from Wollongbar, between Ballina and Lismore.

His mate had raised the alarm after finding him floating unconscious in the water, they said in a statement.

He was pulled from the surf suffering heavy blood loss from severe lacerations to his upper and lower leg.

Police and NSW Ambulance personnel attended the scene, but attempts to revive the boy were unsuccessful.

His body was taken by ambulance to Ballina Hospital.

Police said they would be preparing a report for the state coroner.

Brought to you by AAP


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