A 10-year-old boy has undergone surgery after being bitten by a shark off the coast of Western Australia.
Jackson was snorkelling with his dad at Five Finger Reef, near Coral Bay on Friday when a shadow began to follow him in the water.
“He looked behind and saw it was a shark,” his mother told 9News.
“It went to bite him … it missed the first time then bit one flipper off the second time … and third time it bit his flipper and foot and then it swam off.”
His dad raised the alarm and rushed his son back to shore.
It was a two-metre bronze whaler that left two gashes on the boy’s foot.
Off-duty doctors and bystanders at the beach administered first aid and tied a tourniquet bandage to stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived.
He was then flown to Perth Children’s Hospital to undergo surgery.
Jackson and his family had been exploring Australia for the past nine months. They have thanked everyone who helped them out during the detour to Western Australia’s capital.
The boy is recovering from surgery, and Fisheries officers have recovered his flippers and will now test the marks.
Five Fingers Reef has reopened to the public.
