Massive white shark captured after WA surfer's leg ripped off
Authorities in Western Australia have captured a massive shark close to where a young surfer had his leg ripped off yesterday.
Ben Gerring, 29, remains in a critical condition after he was mauled on Tuesday afternoon at Mandurah, south of Perth.
He survived because of the bravery of fellow surfers, who risked their own safety to drag him to shore and then fought desperately to keep him alive.
As the sun set behind them and waves crashed on the shore, their fierce determination to save the young man was clear to see.
One man performed CPR with all his might as the others stood and knelt beside Mr Gerring.
His leg had been severed above the knee and he had lost a lot of blood, but they were not giving up. Their efforts continued on the beach for at least 20 minutes, then in the back of an ambulance with paramedics.
The 29 year old had been surfing with others at Falcon and was waiting to catch a wave when the shark attacked him from behind and dragged him under.
Paul Collier, who witnessed the attack, said, “what came out of the water was fairly round, I can only assume it was the shark,” and then he saw “red…and then heard this scream”.
Mr Gerring managed to call for help before being dragged under a second time.
Another surfer, Ian Barker, said he heard the call ‘shark’ and saw “about 15 blokes rush into shore”. He then realised there were still people out there and they needed help, so he joined them.
Mr Barker and others braved the danger and they pulled Mr Gerring to shore, where the damage to the young miner’s body became apparent.
“The leg rope from his board was used as a tourniquet initially… I thought he was dead on the beach,” Sheldon Spencer told 7 News.
Mr Gerring was rushed to a nearby hospital and then flown to Perth in critical condition, where his family and fiancé Jasmine are at his side.
Family of surfer mauled by shark release heartfelt message
Killing shark for WA attack 'pointless'
Fisheries have described the shark captured on Wednesday afternoon as a ‘white shark, between 3 and 4.5 metres in size’.
Baited hooks had been set in the morning to capture what was believed to have been a 3m white pointer.
It is not yet known if the shark that was captured has been killed. The WA government has an ‘imminent threat’ policy, allowing for the killing of any shark larger than three metres that poses a risk to public safety.
