Surfer in shark attack off Australia coast
Craig Ison, 52, sustained wounds to his left leg and hand in the dawn attack at Evans Head, 550km north of Sydney, Detective Inspector Cameron Lindsay said.
INCIDENT // Surfer in 40s reportedly bitten by shark on leg near Evans Head. SLS assets and Duty Officer on way.
— Surf Life Saving NSW (@slsnsw) July 30, 2015
Ison was taken by ambulance to Lismore Base Hospital, in a serious but stable condition.
The attack comes after a similar one last Saturday, off the island state of Tasmania, when recreational diver, Damian Johnson, 46, became the second victim of a fatal shark attack in Australia this year. He was mauled by a suspected great white.
Doctors have removed a shark tooth from Craig Ison's leg during surgery. Great white being blamed. @9NewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/FmnErztsCV
— Carrie Greenbank (@CGreenbank9) July 31, 2015
Ison saw the shark and raised the alarm while surfing with friend, Geoff Hill. “They then proceeded to try to paddle in from the ocean and ... it appears the shark has then attacked the 52-year-old and has bitten him on the left-hand side,” Lindsay told reporters at the tourist town of Ballina, 40km north of Evans Head.
“He actually fought off the shark, we’re told, and has made it to shore with the help of that other surfer and passers-by,” he said.
Surfer Geoff Hill with his boardused as a stretcher to get Craig Ison out of water after a #sharkattack at #EvansHead pic.twitter.com/nMo9becJME
— Samantha Elley (@Mannii) July 31, 2015
Beach walkers saved Ison’s life by using surfboard leg ropes as tourniquets to slow the bleeding, before paramedics arrived. Ison underwent surgery later. Ernie Bennett, mayor of Richmond Valley Council which includes Evans Heads, said a bull shark was thought responsible. It bit Ison’s hip and upper thigh. Ison’s hand and arm were lacerated as he fought back.
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