Gold Coast shark attack: Heroes speak out about efforts to save shack attack victim Nick Slater
The heroes who attempted to save shark attack victim Nick Slater last week on the Gold Coast have spoken about what happened – and how they’ve struggled to cope since.
Gold Coast
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JASON Gibbs knew Nick Slater was gone the moment he reached the well-loved Gold Coast man in the waters off Greenmount Beach.
The real estate agent was pale and still in the water after being savaged by a 3.5m great white shark.
Mr Gibbs and fellow surfer Alicia Bain were with Mr Slater in those last moments and dragged him to the beach in a valiant but futile attempt to save his life.
“As soon as I got there, I knew he was gone,” Mr Gibbs recalls.
Both Mr Gibbs and Ms Bain have been hailed as heroes for putting their lives in danger to help a fellow surfer.
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But the humble pair insist they’re nothing of the sort.
“Seeing Nick out there I was just thinking if it was one of our loved ones or friends out there, you’d want someone to go out there and give them the best chance of surviving,” Ms Bain said.
“I just saw someone who needed assistance and thought I need to do something.”
The shark attack, just after dusk on September 8, was the first fatal incident involving a shark on the Gold Coast in more than 60 years.
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While both have been back in the water since that fateful day, there have been precious few moments where the memories haven’t come flooding back.
“It’s consuming me a little bit,” Mr Gibbs said.
“The thoughts come floating back.
“When I went to bed that night it was hard. I cried myself to sleep.”
A week on from the incident, both remember the lead up to event with crystal clarity.
Ms Bain, 27, finished work for the day and headed to Rainbow Bay to catch a wave.
The occupational therapist was in the water off Greenmount when she came across a disturbing sight.
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“After I got off the wave everyone was acting pretty unusually, I think there were a lot of people in shock and had just started fleeing towards the beach,” she said.
“That’s when I realised something was a little bit off.”
Ms Bain remembers seeing Mr Slater lying unresponsive on his board and made a split-second decision, ditching her board and diving into the water and taking hold of Mr Slater’s body, trying to bring it back to shore.
She was joined moments later by Mr Gibb who had rapidly swum towards the unfolding horror.
“I was probably 100 metres to the north of where it happened,” he said
“A skier came up the line-up telling everyone to get out of the water, there was a shark.
“Basically, I got halfway to the beach, turned around and saw a surfer floating in the line-up.”
A surf-ski rider protected the two surfers from the shark as it continued to loom in the waters off the coast.
Once the pair got Mr Slater to shore, other surfers, lifesavers and paramedics worked to revive him but the 46-year-old died from a bite stretching from his hip to his knee.
Their actions have been hailed by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and other political leaders as heroic.
“I also believe those who went to the aid of this man after he was attacked are heroes,” she said last week.
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“Reports from the scene indicate that they include life savers, lifeguards, members of the Greenmount Surf Club and passers-by.
“The courage to run into the surf moments after a shark attack is beyond admirable.
“I think those people are worthy of nomination for bravery awards.”
Kirra Surfriders life member Kerry Gill has already nominated the pair, along with teen surfing talent Zane Hall – who saw the attack and went in to get help – for a hero award from the Queensland Government.
Mr Gill said the whole Gold Coast surfing community are hurting and sending their love to Mr Slater’s loved ones.
Originally published as Gold Coast shark attack: Heroes speak out about efforts to save shack attack victim Nick Slater