iStockphoto / Rasmus-Raahauge
A father in Australia is telling the world how fortunate he is to have his son after good samaritans rushed to his rescue. The son was paddling in a ‘surf ski’ which is a type of kayak when he narrowly escaped a great white attack.
The incident occurred at Seacliff Beach in Adelaide, Australia. And the father ‘feared for the worst’ when he saw a mob of people scattering in the water during a surf ski race and was unable to spot his son.
Moments later, he spotted his son’s sure ski laying across a rescue boat and it was missing a massive chunk from the middle. The missing chunk was unmistakably a bite mark from a massive shark.
Miraculously, the 19-year-old son escaped from the water unharmed and the father along with local lifeguards are telling the story and how close it was to becoming a great white attack.
Australian Teen Narrowly Escapes Great White Shark Attack After Shark Bites Chunk Out Of His ‘Surf Ski’ Kayak
Here is a local news report on the incident:
This second video has some colorful language in it. But it shows the moment the surf ski was removed from the water with the huge chunk missing from the bitemark:
ABC News Australia writes the great white shark was estimated at 10-feet in length. The dad told ABC News “I just ran over to him and gave him a big hug, you don’t realise how much you absolutely love your kids until something like that happens.”
As for how his son Nathaniel survived the imminent great white attack, that’s a pretty incredible story in and of itself. Nathaniel has been training with the Surf Life Saving SA since he was just six years old. And as soon as he felt the large great white shark attack his surf ski he ‘went into survival mode.’
All of the other racers in the water immediately recognized what was happening and brought their kayaks together to create a large raft. Nathaniel swam as fast and hard as he could to two nearby boats and immediately flung himself on top of those boats to get out of the water.
Once back on the beach they would even find one of the great white shark’s teeth embedded in his surf ski.
This really is a shining example of how training for the worst-case scenarios can save lives. Nobody in the water panicked and it’s likely that Nathaniel’s life was saved because of it.