Brave surfer survives shark attack by punching it in the face twice, footage shows it continued to follow him
A French backpacker should be thanking his lucky stars after a close encounter with a shark.
The surfer had to punch a shark in the face to fight it off in a terrifying incident that was captured on camera. The incident had taken place at a popular Australian beach on May 8 afternoon when the 23-year-old was surfing.
Dylan Nacass luckily survived with some minor injuries after a shark attacked his leg at Bell's Beach in Torquay, Victoria. Dylan managed to get away after he punched the shark twice in the face, Daily Mail reported.
You can watch the video here.
Another local surfer, Matthew Sedunary, was nearby and he rushed to help Dylan upon hearing his screams. Sedunary spoke to Nine News and said that he did not realize that the situation was serious until he went and saw what was going on.
"He started screaming. I honestly thought he was joking around with his friends. Then I saw the fin," he added. The two surfers then started to paddle back while the shark continued circling and tracking them. Sedunary added that he did not realize how close the shark had been until he saw the footage.
"When we're paddling in and you can see the shark behind I didn't know it was still there," he shared. He added how the shark continued to scare other surfers just moments after the first attack. "It was tempting to go straight back out because it was pretty decent. But glad I didn't because it hung around and bumped another guy."
Dylan shared that despite his encounter, he is looking forward to being back in the water, Geelong Advertiser reveals. "In one week, when my leg is OK I will go surfing at the same spot. I fight with him and it's OK, I'm alive. Everything is good," Dylan added. "I have my legs most importantly."
The shocking footage was captured on video by Graham Blade. Blade was filming another friend of his surfing when he overheard the terrified screams of the French surfer. He then turned the camera towards the surfer.
He was able to capture the shark following the two men who were paddling as fast as possible to get to the shore.
Recently, another shark attack incident took place off a North California beach where a surfer lost his life, state park officials revealed on Saturday, May 9. The 26-year-old victim had been surfing off Manresa State Beach around 100 yards from the shore when he was attacked by a shark.
The victim's name had not been released and the Santa Cruz Sheriff's deputies have notified his family. According to KTVU, rescue crews, police and ambulances were seen in the parking lot of the beach.
On May 9 morning, a local drone photographer Eric Mainlander told KRON4 that he had captured photos of 15 great white sharks while he was out on his boat. Another drone photographer, Brian Stocks, had also captured many great whites swimming off Manresa Beach on May 8.
As per local news sites, the number of sharks in the area is increasing.