A 20-year-old South American tourist has shared the harrowing details of a shark attack he survived off the coast of New South Wales. Alejo, a Uruguayan national who had been living peacefully in Australia for nearly two years, was sitting on his surfboard waiting for a wave when he felt a sudden, forceful strike on his foot.
The impact turned out to be a vicious shark bite that pulled him underwater. 'Everything happened incredibly fast - I don't think more than two seconds passed between the bite and my reaction,' Alejo wrote on Facebook. 'It pulled me into the water, and my immediate response was to kick it as hard as I could to make it let go.'
The surfer believes the shark became tangled in his surfboard leash, which then separated from the board. 'Once it let go, I swam as fast as I could towards my board and the shore, which luckily were in the same direction,' he added. 'Those moments were extremely intense because I had no idea if the shark would come back, so my only focus was getting out of the water.'
After reaching the shore, Alejo's friends acted quickly. 'Fortunately, my friends were nearby. As soon as I reached the shore, they helped me immediately and applied a tourniquet until the ambulance arrived,' he said. 'I'm incredibly grateful to them for acting so quickly and staying calm under pressure. Considering what could have happened, I was very lucky.'
The bite tore through skin and muscle, ruptured one tendon and damaged several others, but missed any major arteries. Despite the terrifying ordeal, Alejo holds no ill feelings toward the shark. 'I also want to say something that is important to me: I don't hold any resentment towards the shark,' he said. 'The ocean is its home, and we are the ones entering its environment. As surfers, swimmers and ocean users, we all know that even though incidents like this are extremely rare, the risk is always there.'
Alejo concluded: 'This experience has given me an even greater appreciation for life, my friends, and everyone who helped me that day. Now my focus is on recovery and getting back on my feet.'
