A British doctor survived a shark attack in Australia after punching it on the nose like he had seen in a YouTube surfing video.
Charlie Fry, 25, was in the water with three friends when he was attacked off Avoca Beach, 60 miles north of Sydney on the New South Wales Central Coast.
He felt something hit his right shoulder, and reacted by throwing a punch that may have saved his life.
The surfing novice told Nine Network television: “I got this massive thud on my right-hand side. It completely blindsided me. I thought it was a friend goofing around. I turned and I saw this shark come out of the water and breach its head.
So I just punched it in the face with my left hand and then managed to scramble back on my board, shout at my friends and luckily a wave came, so I just sort of surfed the wave in.
The junior doctor, who was based in Southampton before moving to Australia for a year, told how he had recently watched a YouTube video in which professional surfer Mick Fanning described his famous escape from a great white shark during a surfing competition in 2015.
Dr Fry said: “When it happened, I was like: ‘Just do what Mick did. Just punch it in the nose,’
“So Mick, if you’re watching or listening, I owe you a beer. Thank you very much.”
The British doctor, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, was treated for superficial puncture wounds on his right shoulder and upper arm by colleagues at Gosford Hospital and was back at work today.
He has “no idea” what kind of shark it was but said it was “big and scary”.
A great white shark and a bronze whaler shark have both been spotted in the area by lifeguards.
Dr Fry joked he was terrified about telling his mother because “she might kill me”.
His mother, Helen Fry, today told the Standard it was a relief to hear he escaped with only minor injuries, but it was the “sort of thing” she had come to expect from her “adventurous” son.
Mrs Fry, 59, a teacher, said: “He called and said ‘I’ve got a funny story, but I’m absolutely fine..’ I was extremely shocked and concerned, but he played it down and told us not to worry. Luckily his injury’s not serious and his colleagues have been incredibly supportive. He’s back on shift today with a bandage on his arm.
“I can’t say I’m surprised. He’s always been active and adventurous. He’s only been in Australia for a couple of months and he’s already taken up surfing.
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“It’s a good job he was wearing a wetsuit. It could have been a lot worse if he wasn’t. He’ll be back in the water soon and he’s promised me he’ll be wearing a wetsuit.”
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