Two Western Australia Shark Incidents Reported Over The Weekend

A woman was seriously injured after being struck by a whale shark while snorkeling at an Australian tourist spot, while a surfer was attacked by a four-meter great white shark. Both incidents happened at Western Australia over the weekend

The 29-year-old female was with a tour group at Ningaloo Reef when the incident happened on Saturday. According to BBC, the woman was swimming with the typically docile animal when she was hit by its tail.

The victim was rushed to the town of Exmouth to be treated before she was flown to a hospital in Perth. St. John’s Ambulance said the woman suffered internal bleeding and upper body injuries, describing the incident as a “crush.”

Ningaloo Reef is a famous tourist spot, with snorkeling activities popular among tourists. Whale sharks are usually gentle creatures and swimming with these species is a popular activity across the globe.

Also in WA, a great white shark attacked a 28-year-old surfer off Bunker Bay, south of Perth.

Phil Mummert was in the water with other surfers when the shark jumped out of the water and grabbed his leg on Friday, 9News reported.

"He was just sitting on his board and next thing you know we just kinda heard someone go 'shark' and I turned around and just seen this white kind of breach and it had already smashed, hit Phil," a witness told the site.

"It just obliterated his board, it was just floating there like icicles.”

Other surfers went to Mummet’s rescue, with one carrying him on his board to safety. He was then flown to Banbury hospital via a chopper.

Mummett suffered deep wounds to his arm and lacerations on his leg that needed surgery. In a Facebook post, Mummert’s girlfriend said his surgery went well and he’s now recovering.

“We’ve been flooded with lots of lovely messages and I’ve been reading them all to Phil, thank you.”

Western Australia’s borders are still closed to international and interstate travelers due to COVID-19.