Shark Attack Survivor Recounts Fight for Life
A professional firefighter and surfer describes punching and poking the eye of the shark that severed his leg off the coast of Western Australia.
Mel Ismail, a professional firefighter, recounted his near-fatal encounter with a shark off Glenfield Beach near Geraldton, Australia, detailing how he fought back against the predator that severed his right leg below the knee.
Ismail was surfing when he was attacked on Sept. 14. He initially mistook the impact for a dolphin but quickly realized he had been grabbed and dragged underwater by a shark. "I got to a point where I saw its eye... a big black eye," Ismail said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "But it was winking back at me -- I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged."
While many shark species do not have eyelids, they often roll their eyeballs back during an attack as a protective measure. The species of shark that attacked Ismail has not been identified by authorities.
Bleeding and alone, Ismail managed to catch a wave that brought him closer to shore, where surfer Shannan Dunn came to his aid. Dunn assisted Ismail onto his board, and together they returned to the beach. Onlookers then used a leg rope to create a tourniquet for Ismail's severed limb and called for an ambulance. Teenagers helped Ismail into a vehicle to meet the ambulance.
Ismail expressed optimism about his recovery, recalling how the support of those present helped keep him positive and motivated.
This attack occurred shortly before another fatal shark incident. Four days later, 63-year-old Greg O’Neill was fatally attacked by a suspected great white shark off Sorrento Beach in Perth, approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Geraldton.
Australia has recorded five fatal shark attacks this year. Previous incidents include the deaths of three spearfishing divers in May and June and a 12-year-old boy in January.
Ismail stated his intention to return to the water as a bodyboarder.
According to data from the Australian Shark Incident Database, Australia has averaged between two and three fatal shark attacks annually since 2000.