A surfer in Australia is lucky to be alive after surviving a great white shark attack. But his surfboard wasn't as fortunate to survive the onslaught.
The incident happened on August 18 at Cabarita Beach in New South Wales, Australia. Surfer Brad Ross hit the water when a great white bit into his surfboard. According to 10 News, the surfer was thrown into the water and began splashing for help. The bite had been so powerful that it split the board in half.
Authorities managed to capture and then later release the great white. Fortunately, the surfer was unharmed after the attack.
"Lifeguards on the Far North Coast closed Cabarita Beach on the NSW Far North Coast today after a surfer's board was bitten on Monday morning, 18 August," a spokesperson from Surf Live Saving NSW told PEOPLE.
They also added, "It comes less than two months after a boy was bitten by a shark at the same location."
Meanwhile, they confirmed that the surfer was okay.
Great White Shark Attack
"Just after 8 am this morning (Monday 18 August) the Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Centre (SOC) was alerted to an incident at the unpatrolled Cabarita Beach, which was called in through Triple 0," a statement from the organization read. It's believed a surfer's board was bitten by a shark. The surfer is unharmed."
"Australian Lifeguard Service lifeguards were tasked and immediately worked with Council to close the beach and put up signage to warn the public not to enter the water," the statement also added. "SLSNSW UAV assets were used for the rest of the day to observe the beach as a safety precaution."
However, things could have easily been much, much worse. Surf Lifesaving Far North Coast's Dave Rope says that he doesn't understand how Ross managed to escape the animal.
"Very, very lucky, I'd be going out and buying a lottery ticket today, I think, if I was them," Rope told ABC. "I would just say that it is a miracle that no one was injured physically from it. It's quite a savage bite and large, it's split in two. There's no doubt that is probably from the force of the bite."
Meanwhile, yoga teacher Kym Falvey described the scene of seeing the great white shark.
"The man was sitting on his board and the shark literally bit the board behind his butt," Falvey told ABC. "The board just popped, like it exploded, and it flew up in the air and by this time there was a man up on the rocks going, 'Oi, come in.' The last time the shark came right into the shallows, so the surfers in the water were saying, 'We didn't want to stop paddling until we got onto the dry sand.' "
