An Australian man has been accused of being a “hero” after he repeatedly pounded a large white shark until it released his wife’s leg. Police said the couple were surfing on a beach near Port Macquarie, four hours north of Sydney, on Saturday morning when they were bitten twice and injured on their right leg.
“Her companion was forced to punch the fish until it was released,” police said in the statement. The man was later identified as Mark Rapley.
Paramedics treated 35-year-old Chantelle Doyle on the beach before she was later airlifted to the hospital. She has since undergone more than nine hours of emergency surgery to help repair nerve damage, 10 News First Sydney reported. There were no signs of impact on large arteries, meaning it is unlikely she will lose her leg, the station reported.
“We’ve had some really serious and tragic shark encounters along the coastline over the past few months, so to drive out of your own safety zone, to an area where you know there is a large shark, I think is great. .. … a great act of bravery, “said Surf Life Saving State Steven Pearce.
One witness who was nearby surfing at the time of the attack called Rapley a ‘hero’ for taking over what appeared to be a large white shark up to three meters long.
“He started lying in the shark because it would not come loose,” Jed Toohey told the Daily Telegraph. “He saved her life … He was really unbelievable.”
Rapley echoed his efforts, saying he “did what anyone would have done at that moment”.
“When you see the mother of your children, and your support, is all you are, so you just react,” Rapley told 10 News First Sydney.
There have been five fatal shark attacks in Australian waters by 2020, higher than the country’s average of three fatal attacks per year.
Just last month, a shark pulled a 10-year-old boy out of a fishing boat off Tasmania. He survived after his father jumped into the water to save him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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