Sydney shark attack: Fishermen slammed for filming Great White killing Simon Nellist
WARNING: GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF DEATH COULD BE UPSETTING TO SOME READERS
Fishermen, who witnessed a shark attacking a swimmer, have been trolled online for doing nothing. The victim identified as Simon Nellist was killed on Wednesday, February 16, after a four-meter-long Great White shark mauled him to death at Buchan Point, near Little Bay in Sydney's east.
People near the beach at the time of the incident reportedly filmed the attack but couldn’t do anything to save the man. In the footage, a man was also heard saying, “Someone just got eaten by a shark. Big great white. That's insane. That's a great white shark. The person's still there! I just saw a four to five meter great white explode on the surface just here on a swimmer and it was like a car landing in the water. F*** man, I heard a scream and the shark was just chomping on his body and the body was in half just off the rocks here. It came back and swallowed parts of his body and that was it. It disappeared.”
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However, online they have been slammed for capturing the horrifying moment and letting the 35-year-old British expat die. One such comment posted on social media as reported by the Daily Mail read, “This guy just continues to record and the other man looks like he’s still fishing.” Another comment read, “The video is disturbing, the fact someone was swimming while someone else is fishing on shore? This whole thing is disturbing.”
Several social media users have also urged others not to post the disturbing video showing the terrifying final moments of Nellist. A person said, “This is Simon Nellist, the recent shark attacks victim in Sydney. Sharing his last moments on earth in an undignified manner is abhorrent, imagine if he was your son, your brother, your friend? He's one of us, an Aussie, Please have some respect and stop sharing that horrific video and give the man and his family some dignity.” The second one added: “The video is horrific but I mostly feel terrible for the family who will constantly be seeing it when they open their phones...stop sharing the video. It’s someone’s life taken not viral entertainment. Terrible.”
Meanwhile, it has been said that the Wednesday incident was the first fatal attack in Sydney since 1963. Following the tragedy, a charity event for children with disabilities was postponed. The 2022 Murray Rose Malabar Magic Ocean Swim was the same event for which Nellist was practicing when he was killed. Event Director Robert Lloyd said, “The organizing committee extends our thoughts and prayers to the family of the swimmer who was so tragically taken yesterday. Out of respect for the swimmer and his family, and following wide consultation with Randwick Council and experienced, senior Surf Life Saving personnel, we believe that canceling the 2022 swim is appropriate.”
Randwick City Council Mayor Dylan Parker also expressed his shock over the tragedy and said: “I learnt the news after coming out of the ocean myself at a different beach - swimming in the ocean is our pastime out here and to hear somebody die like this is just absolutely horrifying. An attack like this in recent memory is unprecedented.”
“As a passionate swimmer myself, it's definitely given me pause but it's something we will work through. It's very rare but there's always a risk, generally our coastline is safe however unfortunately tragedies do occur,” Parker added.