Professional surfer mauled by shark off eastern Australia
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Version 0 of 1. SYDNEY — A professional surfer was mauled by a shark off the Australian east coast on Wednesday evening, officials said. Brett Connellan, 22, was flown by helicopter to Sydney’s St. George Hospital in serious condition after he was attacked 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the south off a beach near Kiama, a police statement said. He sustained injuries to a thigh and a hand in the attack off Bombo Beach at 7 p.m. and was helped 100 meters (yards) to shore by a fellow surfer, police said. Ambulance Service spokesman Terry Morrow said two beachgoers who were off-duty nurses saved Connellan’s life by applying a tourniquet made from a surfboard leg rope to his upper thigh before paramedics reached the scene. “He had lost a large proportion of his left thigh, and the quad muscle was torn away right down to the bone,” Terry Morrow told the Illawarra Mercury newspaper. “He could’ve bled to death before we arrived on scene. He was very lucky the members of the public were there and acted as they did,” Morrow added. Connellan did not see the shark. Experts are examining his wounds to determine its size and species. Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |