Fatal Adelaide shark attack update

"As the pair resurfaced and tried to return to their boat, the shark repeatedly used its snout to force Mr Stehbens, 23, under the water. Two researchers helped Mr Rowntree aboard the boat, but they watched in horror as the shark took hold of their colleague and dragged him under. Mr Stehbens was seen calmly trying to free his leg from the shark's jaws."

Source: Times online

FATAL – 24 August 2005 – Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, Australia – diver attacked

A diver is presumed dead after a shark attacked him while diving with friends two kilometres off the popular Glenelg Beach in Adelaide, Australia.

The attack took place at 4.10pm local time. The victim and another man were scuba diving when their two friends aboard a boat saw the shark, but they were powerless to stop the attack. The two friends on the boat pulled the victim’s diving companion from the water as the attack took place.

The witnesses said the shark was large and took the diver while he was underwater.

Police have recovered some of the missing diver's equipment, including the oxygen tank and a buoyancy vest. A search for the victim was underway Wednesday night, but he was presumed dead.

Initial reports did not mention the name of the victim or those of the witnesses.

Local shark expert Andrew Fox told media it was most likely a Great White shark, the same type of shark that was believed responsible for the fatal attack on 18-year-old Nick Peterson last December just one kilometre from this incident.

• Sources:
  ninemsn news
  The Age

INJURED – 21 August 2005 – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US – swimmer

An eight-year-old boy, Jacob Kolessar, was swimming with his grandfather Sunday morning at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US, when he was bitten on his side and chest by what experts believe to be a small black tip shark.

His aunt, Stephanie Laibinis, told media he was recovering and had received numerous stitches to his side and chest.

According to the press the boy told emergency workers he had seen several small fish swimming near him. Shark experts said the bite was probably unintentional as Black Tip sharks prefer small bait fish which they feed on near the shore. “They don’t have an interest in man as prey.”

The Kolessar family, from Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, was vacationing at the beach.

According to statistics compiled by the Florida Museum of Natural History there have been few shark bites in the Carolinas in the past 10 years and no fatal attacks in South Carolina since the 1800s.

Chris Humphrey was attacked by a shark at Holden Beach, North Carolina, in mid-July.

• Meanwhile, a park ranger at Fort Fisher Recreational Area told the press there had been an unconfirmed bite at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, earlier in August.

Source: MyrtleBeachOnline.com

INJURED - 19 August 2005 - Crystal Beach, Texas, United States - swimmer attacked

A 12-year-old boy, Julian Elizondo, was bitten on the left foot by a shark while walking in knee-deep water at Crystal Beach, east of Galveston Island, Texas, United States. The attack took place Friday 19 August.

Media reports that “when he couldn't pull away, Julian knocked the shark on the head and it let go”.

There was no mention of the size or type of shark responsible for the attack.

He was taken by ambulance to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, where surgeons operated on his foot. Hospital officials said the wound also affected the ankle joint.

• Source: Houston Chronicle