A diver was partially swallowed by a shark when he poked it in the eye.A man who managed to fight off a three-metre shark by poking its eye is being operated on in Wollongong Hospital after being mauled by a white pointer shark.Aiyah. That's Shark Attack No.3 this summer.
Eric Nerhus, a 41-year-old professional diver is in a serious but stable condition, and is expected to survive, after being half swallowed by the three-metre shark at Cape Howe, near Eden, on the NSW south coast, about 9.30am today.
The shark seized Mr Nerhus by the head, crushing his face mask inwards and breaking his nose, said friend and fellow diver Dennis Luobikis.
"He was actually bitten by the head down, the shark swallowed his head,'' Mr Luobikis said.
Taking a second bite, the white pointer clenched its jaws around his torso, tearing deep lacerations in either side of his body.
Against the odds, Mr Nerhus, a well-known local diver of more than five years' experience, managed to free himself from the shark's jaws, and was pulled back aboard the boat by his son.
Two other young divers in a nearby boat rendered immediate first aid and one radioed his father, who was flying overhead in a spotter plane, to call for emergency help.
He was flown to Wollongong Hospital instead of the closer Canberra Hospital because the Snowy Hydro Rescue Helicopter carrying the man must fly low to ground.
"He was diving so we have to fly low to the ground, and there are mountains on the way to Canberra,'' Snowy Hydro spokeswoman Debbie Lowry said.
"When you dive you have got to a minimum of two hours adjusting ... it's decompression. The oxygen in your lungs need time to readjust or you get the bends.''
She said the diver had told the helicopter crew that he had managed to get free after the shark bit down on him, then poked the animal in the eye.
So, what is this notion that shark attacks happen only once a decade or so? Seems to me they happen with scary regularity.
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