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https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAdelaide/videos/vb.186714264692570/1723902670973714/?type=2&theater
AN AUSTRALIA TEENAGER has survived a terrifying encounter with a great white shark, with her harrowing screams alerting her father who was certain it was about to “eat her”.
Sarah Williams, 15, was fishing for squid from a kayak off the South Australian coast near Normanville yesterday when the shark struck.
Her father Chris, in a small dingy nearby with his son and another daughter, said she was thrown into the air and landed in the water.
“This shark has just rolled and all I saw was the dark side and the white belly and just huge fins and just white water everywhere,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation today.
It was going to eat her.
He said the animal circled and hit the kayak several times as he rushed to his daughter’s aid, with son Mitchell dragging her from the water, over the shark and into their boat.
“That spine-tingling scream, that not only me but my son and eldest daughter heard, is something that you just can’t describe it,” Williams added to the Nine Network as he fought back tears.
“All night we’ve just sort of sat back and said, ‘How have we got out of this alive?’”
The shark, suspected to be a great white and estimated to be the same length as the kayak, about 4.5 metres (15 feet), then stalked their motor boat for about 10 minutes as they headed for safety.
The girl, who escaped with minor cuts and bruises, said the ordeal was “everything you picture in the Jaws movie”.
“I saw it when I was in the water with it. I saw what it was and I saw its fin,” she told Nine.
Fatalities remain rare
Police said the Sea Rescue Squadron was now patrolling the area, around 75 kilometres (46 miles) south of Adelaide.
The scare came just days after a diver survived intact after being forced to swim five miles back to shore shadowed by a large tiger shark after becoming separated from his boat in Western Australia.
John Craig told reporters yesterday: “I thought this was it, this is how I’m going to die.”
There have been more than a dozen incidents with sharks off Australia’s vast coastline this year, including the death of a 17-year-old girl mauled in full view of her parents in Western Australia.
Experts say attacks are increasing as water sports become more popular and baitfish move closer to shore, but fatalities remain rare.
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Maybe don’t go squid fishing in a kayak in Australia? Just an idea
The waters off South Australia are known for great whites so they cant be hugely surprised that this happened.
The shark seems to have been confused into thinking that the kayak was the prey. The girl is very lucky to have survived this.
Leave the shark alone Why kill something that’s just doing what it evolved to do?? They are here a lot longer than us, And will be here long after too by the looks of it.
To the media all sharks are rogue. Ignorance.
@Fabio Dillon: Exactly. We go into a domain where they are the apex predator, and they do what comes naturally to them. Then we do what come naturally to us lay blame; and cast nom existent personas on them. It’s anthropomorphism at its worst.
@Matt F: Anto Pomorphism ! I knew his mother !
I think because of shark dives where they bait sharks to swim with and overfishing that the sharks are confused as they now think all vessels are there to feed them….plus they don’t care because they’re also starving….time to get out of the water.
I’d love to know what George hook has to say about this.
Fecking humans think we own the planet. Fcuk off and take up a land hobby if you don’t respect the ocean and its inhabitants.
@Nollaig Elliot:
well said ..
humans think we own the planet..
@Nollaig Elliot: we do own the planet
@Mr D: we do our best to kill the planet !
what else would you use if you had no arms to eat.?
@Andrew: Very true. That’s the thing about fish. If they are curious about anything they can only do one thing and that is put it in their mouth to find out what it is.
A rogue shark like there is no such thing
@Noel James Doherty: only rogue to the clowns that expect them to behave !!
have your say