Australian diver survives a second shark attack in nine years

A diver bitten by a shark off Australia’s southwest coast was recovering in a hospital after surviving his second shark attack in nine years.

Greg Pickering, 55, was diving for abalone off an area called Poison Creek near the Western Australia city of Esperance on Tuesday when he was attacked by what officials suspect was a great white.

He underwent surgery and was in stable condition yesterday, Royal Perth Hospital spokesman Matt Avery said. It was the second time Pickering found himself in the jaws of a shark. In 2004, he was bitten on the leg while spearfishing near Cervantes, north of the Western Australia capital, Perth.