A surfer has described the moment he was ‘sent flying’ by a shark which destroyed his board off the coast of California.
Tommy Civik had been in the sea for less than ten minutes when he wasattacked at the large creature before he had even seen it approaching.
The incident was witnessed by his friend Marco Guerrero, who said he saw the shark bite Mr Civik before snatching half his surfboard.
With teeth marks in his leg and around 150ft from dry land, Mr Civik was forced to make a swim for it to escape from the beast.
He only noticed the extent of his bite wounds after he had come out of the water in Gualala, Mendocino County.
Recounting his ordeal, he told LA Times: ‘I was unbelievably lucky. My board took all the impact, and the teeth just grazed me.’
However despite being in shock, and with first responders arriving on the scene, Mr Civik insisted on driving himself to the hospital.
‘I had quite a bit of adrenaline, and since I could walk, I drove myself to the hospital’, he said.
His wounds required stitches and his ripped wetsuit is being tested by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in order to identify what type of shark made the attack.
Mr Civik, however, remains undeterred and is determined to take to the water once again.
‘f it’s already unlikely to get attacked by a shark once, how could it happen twice?’, he asked.
‘I don’t think this will stop me.’
Not all shark encounters have ended on such good terms however.
Last week a swimmer was killed by a shark while taking a dip at a Caribbean beach.
Arlene Lillis, 56, was heard screaming swimming after entering the water at Dorsch beach, Saint Croix in the US Virgin Islands.
Two witnesses, including a nearby snorkeller attempted to save her and bring her to land, however she was only able to tell them her name and that she was going to die.
In another incident, 55-year-old Erica Fox was found dead over Christmas after disappearing off Monterey beach in California.
She had been wearing a shark deterrent anklet when she went missing.
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