Surfer punches shark in the head to rescue cousin, 13, as Australia faces wave of terror shark attacks

Surfer punches shark in the head to rescue cousin, 13, as Australia faces wave of terror shark attacks

By Mail Foreign Service and Richard Shears
Last updated at 9:29 AM on 12th January 2009


Syb Mundy was in the water with his cousin Hannah Mighall when she was bitten by a shark

An Australian surfer punched a five-metre shark in the head as he rescued his 13-year-old cousin who had been bitten on the leg and dragged beneath the water in the latest of a wave of shark attacks to hit the country.

The pair were surfing off the southern island state of Tasmania yesterday when the white-pointer grabbed Hannah Mighall's leg and dragged her down twice.

Her cousin, Syb Munday, 33, paddled over, punched the shark, put the girl onto his surfboard with him and paddled into shore.

'It let Hannah go, but I was terrified it would have another go at her,' Munday said.

'She'd managed to get away briefly before I reached her and she was screaming "Help me, help me!"

'But I'm no hero because Hannah managed to put up her own fight before I reached her, despite her cries for help. She was scared, of course, but she fought it off,' he added.

Munday managed to drag Hannah onto his surfboard and start paddling to the shore - but the shark remained with them, circling the board and threatening to strike again.

'Then we caught a wave and I thought that was great because it would carry us away from it - but the shark caught the same wave and when I looked again it was right beside us,' Munday said.

'Somehow we got to the shore and were able to get help for Hannah. She's got bites on her leg but she's doing OK in hospital,' he added.


The surfboard which had a bite taken out of it by a shark in Binalong Bay, near St Helens, Tasmania

'He's (Munday) done a magnificent job,' Senior Sergeant Jason Elmer of St. Helens Police said.

'He's extremely brave in his actions. He's probably saved her life.'

In the fourth attack on swimmers and surfers in just two weeks, Steve Fogarty, 28, was surfing on a lake estuary south of Sydney today when he was bitten on the leg by what he believes was a bull shark, one of the most aggressive and unpredictable creatures in the sea.

He suffered a sickening 40 puncture wounds to his leg before he was able to punch what he told police was a 'brown shape' and make his way to a bridge pylon where he called for help.


Contrary to popular belief, only a few sharks are dangerous to humans

In another near-tragedy at the weekend, a surfer on Australia's northeast coast survived a shark bite and paddled himself to shore with a 40-centimetre gash in his left thigh.

Jono Beard, 31, was surfing with a few friends, watching some dolphins swim by, when he was bitten.

He paddled for 80 metres (90 yards) into the shore, all the while shadowed by the shark. Beard was flown by helicopter to hospital where he underwent surgery.

'We were all just out there and there were six or seven dolphins around us. It was a bit of a tranquil morning,' surfing friend Paul Holden said.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1112563/Surfer-punches-shark-head-rescue-cousin-13-Australia-faces-wave-terror-shark-attacks.html