Is shark attack really common while surfing and swimming? Well, there are 70-100 shark attack cases each year, leading to 5 death records on average in the US. Besides the US, some other famous surfing spots in the world are known for their frequent shark attack records, such as the Margaret River Region in West Australia.

Margaret River Region is a beautiful place with ideal beaches and great surf breaks on the nearby coasts. But the place is infamous for its great white shark population. Some of the nearby regions are even closed after numerous cases of shark attacks on surfers were being reported. A similar case recently came to light when a 24-year-old surfer from Ballina, New South Wales, was enjoying sunlight all while laying on his surfboard, until a shark disrupted his day. But he bravely fought the shark and reached the shore as fast as he could. 

The horrid surfing-shark attack incident

On 24th July, Jack Frost, 24, was surfing on Gnarabup Beach, a part of the Margaret River region. With the combo of hot morning light and calm water, he was relishing his time on the board, waiting for a wave to come. However, the wave did not arrive, but a shark did and knocked off Jack from his surfing board, forcing him to engulf into the water.

According to Western Australia Today, Jack said, it was a huge white shark with a 3.5-meter length. When Jack was attacked, he fell off his board but somehow managed to reach the surface. He stated the horror saying, “It’s hit me, and I’ve done a kind of backflip off my board. Landed in the water and as I’ve surfaced, I’m thinking, ‘What the f*** was that?’.”

The shark scratched his leg and caused some more wounds to Jack, but luckily he did not sustain many injuries. This situation could have gotten worse, but Jack managed to fight the shark and delivered a couple of punches on shark’s head. But when the head punches did not work out, Jack started hitting the gills of the predator and finally managed to find his sensitive spot to strike. After that, the shark submerged into the depth and Jack began rushing to the surface, boosting his spirits by saying “‘You’re going to be all right, you’re going to survive.” After knocking down the shark, some bystanders rushed to him and provided their sincere assistance. 

Jack was saved by the bystanders

After Jack fought the shark and paddled his way to the shore, he was seen by an off-duty nurse who was dining at a beach cafe. When he saw Jack drained and bleeding, he rushed to him to provide his aid. Then he was assisted by some bystanders on the beach to get Jack to Margaret River Hospital. Later, he was transferred to Bunbury Hospital by ambulance. Jack sustained some severe injuries on his upper leg and required 18 stitches to fix it. The moment the shark knocked Jack down off the board was caught in the Swellnet beach camera.

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The Margaret River region is infamous for its numerous shark attack cases, not only young surfing prodigies but professionals also reported some horrid incidents. In 2018, two Brazilian professional surfers, Italo Ferreira and Gabriel Medina expressed their fear and refused to surf in the area due to shark attack. However, this time, the young surfer saved his life by fighting back and safely made it to the shore despite losing plenty of blood. According to some viewers, the same shark was seen again in the nearby area.

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