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Shark attack victim reveals how he survived terrifying ordeal

A 20-year-old surfer has revealed how he fought off a shark in Western Australia and is now recovering in hospital.

Noah Symmans, 20, had been surfing at Pyramids Beach, near Mandurah south of Perth, at about 8.30am on Sunday when he felt something grab his leg.

He spoke of his fight with the shark, which he compared to champion surfer Mick Fanning’s stoush with a shark at a 2015 contest at Jeffreys Bay, South Africa.

“When I punched it, I kind of went into that mode, I guess. Not like he did, but with my foot. Booted it,” he told the ABC from the Royal Perth Hospital where he is recovering.

“It kind of just released, cos I kind of felt it trying to drag me down. Honestly, it probably only had me for a couple of seconds, you know … I don’t know if it didn’t like the taste of me or whatever.”

Noah Symmans fought off a shark in Western Australia
Noah Symmans fought off a shark in Western Australia. Source: Facebok/Noah Symmans

Mr Symmans managed to drag himself onto a rock and quickly alerted patrol teams of his injuries.

He suffered four deep puncture wounds to his foot and ankle when the shark’s teeth ripped through his flippers.

His injuries are not life-threatening, but it is likely he will need surgery.

It’s the latest shark incident in Australia, following the fatal mauling of a young Victorian doctor in Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands last week.

That was the third serious shark attack in Cid Harbour in two months after Tasmanian woman Justine Barwick and Melbourne girl Hannah Papps were bitten in separate attacks in September.

My Symmans was bitten on the leg by a shark at Dawesville on Sunday morning
My Symmans was bitten on the leg by a shark at Dawesville on Sunday morning. Source: 7News (left)/Google Maps (right)

-With AAP