A French surfer was punched through a shark attack in Bells Beach in the Melbourne region of Australia, suffering only minor injuries to his leg, local media reported.
Dylan Nacass, 23, was surfing on Friday when he was attacked by the shark, 9News reported Saturday.
A video shows the animal near two men who row on their boards.
“I punched him and he stayed on my legs. I did it twice and he left,” the young man explained in English to the Australian television network.
A neighbor in the area, Matt Sedunary, explained that he ran into the water to help the surfer when he saw that he was in trouble.
“He started screaming, honestly at first I thought he was joking with his friends,” he said. “But I couldn’t leave him alone, anyone would have done the same,” he added.
The video’s author, Graham Blade, said he quickly realized it was a shark: “I saw him appear from behind him and knew what it was.”
Dylan Nacass only suffered a few scratches and received stitches.
Australia is one of the countries where shark attacks are common, with 27 last year according to the Taronga (Sydney) zoo. Deaths are more infrequent; there was not in 2019 but there are already 2 in 2020.
“I want to go back quickly, since my leg recovers, I will surf soon,” said the Frenchman.
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