Hero dad saves 10-year-old son from 'large shark' that snatched him from boat and dragged him into the water
A ten-year-old boy was mauled by a shark after it dragged him from the deck of a boat off the coast of Tasmania. The beast grabbed the youngster out of the blue when he was fishing with his father and two other men, The Sun reported. The brave dad immediately jumped in to rescue his son from the deadly predator, before it swam off in the ocean.
Speaking to 9News, Abalone diver Ben Allen, who was nearby the party after they made it back to shore, recounted what he heard. "The shark leaped out of the water, hit the side of the boat and snapped the rod clean off in the rod holder, grabbed the boy, all in the one swipe... and pulled him into the water," he told the outlet. "The father, with his natural instinct I suppose, has leaped in straight after his son and managed to grab him."
Witnesses told Allen that the shark was believed to be a great white. However, that is yet to be confirmed by authorities. Nonetheless, a "large shark" was reportedly spotted stalking the coastline recently. "All the boys said [the shark] was big, I imagine it was very big. It is renowned for this time of year that they do go in that area," Allen said. "The boys are saying [it was a] great white."
The wounded child, who hails from northwest Tasmania, sustained cuts to his arms, chest, and head, and was reportedly wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident. He was subsequently rushed to the nearby North West Regional Hospital, where he is currently recuperating and is in a "stable" condition. Local law enforcement had issued a shark warning for the area just a couple of hours prior to the attack. “Please be advised there has been a large shark sighted in the Stanley area,” they warned. “If swimming or undertaking fishing and other marine activities please take necessary precautions.”
That said, this is the fifth shark attack reported in Australia in recent months. Over the weekend, we reported how a 15-year-old boy died after he was attacked by a shark twice while surfing off the Australian coast. Mani Hart-Deville had been surfing in the waters of Wooli Beach, near Grafton on the New South Wales north coast, at around 2:30 pm on Saturday, July 11, when a shark upended his board and bit into his legs, the Daily Telegraph reported. The horrifying incident was witnessed by friends and family who were watching him surf from the shore, who tried to rescue him by paddling out into the waters and fighting off the shark. They managed to get him to shore and administered first aid, but ultimately could not save him. Hart-Deville had suffered deep bites on both legs and passed away at the beach. Helen Dobra, a local, said she had seen another surfer bravely rush to help the 15-year-old and tried to pull the shark off him before pulling him out of the water.
"I talked to one of the surfers and basically he said he was in the water and a really big great white shark came up and took a bite and [the boy] was screaming out," she shared. "The surfer said the shark then came in again for another attack. He said another surfer bravely went and tried to get the shark off and then they pulled [the boy] out of the water."