In a truly harrowing encounter beneath the waves, a diver found himself marveling at his fortune after dodging death in a shark attack just off Australia’s shoreline this past weekend.
A 31-year-old man experienced a terrifying brush with danger when a shark, boasting a formidable length of more than six and a half feet, clamped down on his forearm near Tasmania’s coast. The incident took place shortly after 9 a.m. on Saturday, as first reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Officials from Tasmania revealed that the diver was in the company of two other divers, approximately 165 feet from Adventure Bay’s shores, at a sea depth of 26 feet. It’s believed the attacker was a broadnose sevengill shark.
The unidentified victim was promptly assisted to land by his diving companions, before being flown to Royal Hobart Hospital. Inspector Darren Latham of Tasmania Police confirmed that, fortunately, his injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Police have assured the public that the diver currently remains in stable condition following the incident.
According to a beachgoer who was on scene when paramedics attended to the man’s injuries, the diver was spearfishing at the time of the attack.
“The guy who was bitten had speared a fish and had been bitten by the shark while retrieving the fish on the spear,” the witness, who did not want to be identified, said.
“It was a pretty good bite without being anything too serious…just a good, dog-sized bite, maybe the top of his arm,” he added.
The broadnose sevengill shark, which was believed to be nearly 7-feet in length, is a “major predator of shark species,” according to Fishing Tasmania.
The shark species can reach nearly 10 feet in length and have seven gill slits instead of the usual five found on most other kinds of sharks, per the Shark Research Institute.
They are typically found swimming at depths of up to 150 feet and are classified as dangerous in Australia.
Shark attacks in the southern state of Australia are rare — with only 15 being recorded throughout history, six of which were fatal.
“Sevengill sharks are often encountered by Tasmanian divers, usually without incident,” shark researcher Chris Black told the outlet.
“They are curious animals and will often investigate divers by slowly circling them,” he said.
According to Black, broadnose sevengill sharks are “generally regarded as harmless, but will come belligerent in situations where there is feed in the water or where there is a stimulus, such as fish blood, in the water.”
Since the attack on Saturday, police say there have been no further sightings of the shark.