Australian surfer fights off shark attack... then swims to shore
A MAN who was mauled by a shark off south-western Australia managed to swim to shore despite serious injuries to both legs.
Alejandro Travaglini, 37, was surfing at Gracetown at around 8am yesterday when he was attacked, according to Dennis Bertoldo of St John Ambulance.
He was the first of two surfers bitten on the same stretch of coast yesterday and fears of more attacks led to a professional surfing tournament being temporarily suspended.
Mr Travaglini was treated on the beach by paramedics before being flown, by helicopter 160 miles to hospital in Perth, Mr Bertoldo added. Local news reports suggest Mr Travaglini fought off the shark before catching a wave and bodysurfing back in to shore.
Peter Jovic, a surf photographer who saw the attack from the beach, told ABC radio: “The surfer who was being attacked ended up, miraculously, bodysurfing into a little wave and getting pushed in by a local who was out there with him, and making it to shore before everyone came to his aid.”
The hospital later described Mr Travaglini’s condition as stable.
The attack prompted the World Surf League to suspend the nearby Margaret River Pro international surfing contest before resuming about an hour later. Lifeguards said a 13ft shark was spotted off a nearby beach two hours after the attack.
Another surfer near the same beach was attacked after Mr Travaglini, suffering a large gash to his thigh.