Woman ‘hit by white pointer’ at Port Noarlunga undergoes surgery
The 32-year-old Victorian woman was rescued from the water in dramatic scenes in Adelaide’s south on Friday.
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A 32-year-old woman who was bitten in the face by a shark at Port Noarlunga on Friday is out of intensive care and is in a stable condition after a second round of surgery.
Flinders University enviromental science honours student Bridgette O’Shannessy was attacked while diving at the reef shelf at Port Noarlunga.
It was the fourth shark attack in South Australian waters this year and comes after a great white shark killed 55-year-old surfer Tod Gendle, near Streaky Bay on November 1.
In May, local teacher Simon Baccanello was killed while surfing off Elliston.
Ms O’Shannessy, who is from the Victorian town of Yackandandah, near the border cities of Albury and Wodonga, was diving with her partner Brian Gordon Roberts when the attack happened.
On social media, Mr Roberts wrote “unfortunately Bridgette was hit by a white pointer at Port Noarlunga reef yesterday’’.
“She’s out of theatre now in iccu and in a stable condition,’’ he said.
“She’s doing really well considering the circumstances.
“Thanks for all the well wishes I’ve been passing them on to her.’’
The social media profiles of the couple are peppered with photos of them free diving and surfing.
Seven News reported that Mr Roberts had helped save Ms O’Shannessy by pushing the shark away.
However, she had undergone two rounds of surgery at Flinders Medical Centre after suffering extensive facial injuries, including having teeth removed from her skull and undergoing surgery to repair damaged nerves.
It also said Ms O’Shannessy’s family was grateful help had been available so quickly.
The attack on Ms O’Shannessy occured only 50m offshore in an area where locals said sharks were not generally seen.
A Flinders spokesperson said the university would help Ms O’Shannessy with her “study and exam procedures’’ at a time of year when students were finalising assignments and preparing for exams.
The spokesperson also said many students had been in touch to express concern and pass on best wishes.
“We wish her all the best and hope she makes a full and speedy recovery,’’ the spokesperson said.
The Westpac Lifesaver rescue helicopter was dispatched to help search for the shark, as well as the Surf Life Saving SA jet rescue boat and nine jet skis, but it couldn’t be found, police said – PIRSA were also notified of the incident.
Eyewitness Indie Corbett, 16, said she “just saw this guy grab this woman, drag her back in and just started screaming for help’’.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the government would consider any options to monitor and prevent attacks, including the use of shark nets.
“The shark attack we saw yesterday was very unique in its nastiness,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“It’s not something we see often – sharks attacking someone in the face – so that was a concerning report. I wish the woman a speedy recovery.”
“We are always open minded about options, but these incidents occurred a long way from each other so it’s difficult to draw a correlation between the two events.“Nonetheless, we will continue to monitor the situation.”
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