07/22/2023 Keiron Benson Five Fingers Reef Western Australian

[alb]

Spearfisher escapes shark attack by 'hugging' its tail and holding on

On the last day of their holiday in Australia, Dad Keiron went out to sea to catch a fish to cook for dinner when suddenly he spotted a shark in the water

An Australian dad has shared the harrowing moment he escaped death when he "hugged" a shark's tail and shot it in the eye.

Keiron Benson was on holiday with his partner Hollie, daughter Mia and stepson O'Shea, during the school holidays earlier this month at Five Fingers Reef, near Coral Bay in Perth when the close call happened.

It was the last day of their holiday and Keiron went out to sea to catch a fish to cook for dinner, he told ABC Mornings. He said the family took their dinghy about 200 meters offshore and then he dived in with his spear gun.

"I thought I'd jump in and see what I can catch and brought the family out as it'd been safe and it was the last time for the trip," he said.

As he was about to head back to the boat when he spotted the shape in the water. Kieron was trying to not panic all while attempting to keep an eye on the shark and get his family's attention.

Suddenly the shark went "from placid to looking aggressive... dropped its pectoral fins, a sign it wasn't happy. It was right at the end of the gun. I just thought, 'Shoot' and I did, and at that exact moment it must've decided to flick and attack me", he explained.

The spear hit the shark in the eye socket, but the momentum meant its body whacked into Kieron. Its tail hooked up under his shoulder which is when he "grabbed the tail and just sort of hugged it."

The shark regained consciousness and tried to bite him: "It started arching back around … snapping at me … we started rotating underwater several times in a spin."

Luckily the family boat managed to get close to the incident and when there was a window of opportunity, Kieron "flew into the boat, don't remember touching sides, just jumping in".

Incredibly, he walked away from the encounter with only bruises but said he would likely give up spearfishing after the close encounter.


https://www.mirror.co.uk/