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A JAPANESE SURFER was killed today after both his legs were apparently bitten off by a shark in eastern Australia.
The attack comes a day after another man suffered serious injuries in the same area.
Police said the 41-year-old died at popular tourist spot Shelly Beach near Ballina, some 187 kilometres (116 miles) south of Brisbane.
A group of surfers helped get him out of the water and first aid was administered, but to no avail.
“We can confirm the man is a Japanese national, aged 41,” Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay told the local Northern Star newspaper, adding that efforts were being made to contact his family.
“He’s been living in the Ballina area for around 12 months.”
A local cafe owner, identified only as Karen, told reporters the shark came from nowhere.
“It just came up between a bunch of surfers,” she said. “They weren’t even that far out. He lost both his legs.”
Police only described the man’s injuries as “substantial”.
“He had leg injuries and they were substantial, they were injuries that led to a significant loss of blood,” said Lindsay.
Ballina Shire mayor David Wright said rescuers believed it was a great white shark.
“For a shark to take the board and the person sitting on it, it’s got to be very big,” he said.
Beaches in the area were closed after the fatality, which came just one day after Jabez Reitman, 35, was attacked while sitting on his surf board off Seven Mile Beach near Byron Bay, only 30 kilometres north of Ballina.
He suffered a cut to his back and puncture wounds to his buttocks.
“Something just jumped out of the water and just grabbed me at my hip and dragged me off my board and took me under the water,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“I just came back up and I paddle, paddle, (and) paddled about 60 metres back into the shore.”
Sharks are a regular feature in Australian waters, and swimmers and surfers have had their share of encounters with the animals this summer.
Experts say attacks by sharks are increasing as water sports become more popular.
Fatalities, however, remain rare – although two teenagers died in shark attacks in December, one on the country’s west coast and one on the east.
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I think this is Ireland’s first photograph I’m open to corrections though
http://www.irishhistorylinks.net/pages/OldDublin/HardwickStreet_1848.jpg
Sorry it’s 1848
We are publishing a book in the coming weeks and has a picture of Ireland from 1843, the earliest we believe to be late 1830′.
Any evidence?
Or this one from 1860 of O’Connell St again I think the long exposure gives the impression of no people / horses etc
Thanks for posting those Robert, fascinating photos.
Fantastic pictures Robert!
What about the two men sitting at a table on the right??
How do you know they are men? Women didn’t have much rights back then but they were allowed sit at tables.
I imagine them sitting at a table playing cards or dominoes, this would’ve been a predominantly male pastime. Then again there’s no mention of these people so it’s likely my eyes are playing tricks on me!
Where what pic ?
Very well spotted Fiona!!
How about some of the very first colour photos from the Albert Kahn Collection. http://www.albertkahn.co.uk/photos/Europe/Ireland_1.jpg
They did a collectors edition book called the wonderful world of Albert Kahn, it has a whole bunch of photos from all over the world, amazing to see the cultures preserved in it. The time period is just before the world wars and the collection of photos is worth checking out.
How about the first ever photograph: View from the Window at Le Gras, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, ca. 1826
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/windows/southeast/joseph_nicephore_niepce.html
So apparently, there was a massive jump in quality from inception in 1826 to 1860 and then no discernible improvements until the introduction of colour in the 1960s-1970s.
Incorrect … The exposure & development processes dramatically changed and speeded up…
I was on about the end product more than the process.
I hate the way that the Americans have hijacked this term but this is AWESOME dude
This was taken just six years after the events depicted in Hugo’s Les Miserables.
Very interesting photos thanks for posting. I follow Historical Pics on Twitter which is usually very good as well.
Thanks for the tip Simon
Just followed it and looked at the all their photos very interesting !
So the first ever photo of people came 12 years after the first ever photo?
What did everyone do in the pub for those 12 years, if they weren’t Instagramming the shite out of each other’s cocktails/food or takin selfies every 3 mins?
And to think photography has come so far that we now filter pictures of our dinner….
This was shown on QI ages ago….
So?
This photograph has been known for a very long time. It is written about in ‘The Photograph’ by Graham Clarke, published in 1997. And I’m sure I have seen it in earlier texts.
So it seems this isn’t really news. Or perhaps the news is that someone has tweeted about an old, famous, photograph.
Save the Bah Humbug for Christmas , Neil. It isn’t even Halloween yet, mate.
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