A man in his 50s experienced a shark attack while surfing at a popular tourist destination but astonishingly managed to drive himself to the hospital for medical assistance. The incident occurred at D’Estrees Bay in South Australia, specifically in an area known as The Sewer on Kangaroo Island, where the man was bitten twice by a shark, believed to be a bronze whaler. The attack took place around 1.37pm local time on a Tuesday.
After the attack, the surfer underwent emergency surgery at the hospital. Bronze whaler sharks, like the one involved in the incident, are commonly found in coastal and offshore waters of South Australia, reaching lengths of up to 3.3m and weights of up to 300kg. Another surfer who survived a great white shark encounter in the same area described the experience as being hit by a truck during the attack.
In a separate incident in 2020, a 29-year-old surfer named Dion Lynch recounted his terrifying encounter with a great white shark at D’Estrees Bay on Kangaroo Island. Despite being bitten on his back, buttock, and elbow, and sustaining damage to his surfboard, Lynch managed to hold onto his board, catch a glimpse of the shark as it let go, and then paddle to the beach for help.
Lynch, writing from his hospital bed, expressed gratitude for surviving the attack, which occurred during a particularly dangerous year for shark incidents. He described the moment he felt the impact of the shark attack as being akin to being hit by a truck and detailed his efforts to reach safety and seek assistance after the encounter. Another surfer, who happened to be an off-duty paramedic, assisted Lynch in getting to the hospital for treatment.