Man attacked by shark at Bombo Beach

THE surfer mauled by a shark at a beach south of Sydney sent a message from his hospital bed, saying he does not want his attack to lead to a “shark hunt”.

THE surfer mauled by a shark at a beach south of Sydney sent a message from his hospital bed, saying he does not want his attack to lead to a “shark hunt”.

Seriously injured surfer Brett Connellan, 22, lost a huge chunk of his thigh when a shark attacked him on Bombo Beach, near Kiama, last night.

His father, Malcolm Connellan, held back tears outside St George Hospital where his son remains in intensive care after suffering traumatic injuries to his leg.

“Our son Brett suffered a very serious injury last night, he’s in a serious but stable condition,” he said in a short statement outside the hospital.

Brett Connellan’s dad Malcolm spoke about his son’s shark attack for the first time outside St George Hospital today. Picture: Toby Zerna

Family friend Wayne Phillips then told media Brett could have suffered even worse injuries if he had not fought for his life.

Mr Phillips also praised the actions of Brett’s mate Joel, who helped him to shore, and the two nurses who administered first aid on the beach.

“Brett’s injuries could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the fact that he actively fought off the shark and his mate, who was surfing with him at the time, came to his assistance,” Mr Phillips said.

“Brett’s got a long road to recovery. He is in a serious but stable condition and the fantastic staff at St George Hospital, the surgeons and the nurses, are assessing Brett right now.”

Mr Phillips said Brett asked that his attack not lead to any action against the animals.

“He knows the risks and has been a surfer all his life. He doesn’t want this attack to result in any sort of shark hunt,” he said.

The aspiring pro-surfer has been described as a “freak” talent and “probably one of the best surfers in Kiama” by locals.

Surfer Joel did not hesitate when he heard his mate Brett Connellan screaming. After pulling him to shore he and his girlfriend, Agie, provided first aid.

Bombo is near Kiama, south of Wollongong.

Connellan was flown to St George Hospital after the attack.

The actions of one of Brett’s surfing buddies, Joel, played a big part in ensuring the young surfer survived the attack.

Hearing his screams, Joel swam to his mate’s aid and ferried him back to shore on his board.

“The first thing I saw was Brett getting thrashed around in the water and a terrible scream and acting on instinct I paddled as hard as I could towards him and actually lost sight of him at one stage as a wave was breaking over him,” Joel told The Daily Telegraph this morning.

“I said to him ‘what’s it like’ and he said ‘it’s not good’ and at that point I knew something was horribly wrong.”

The school teacher was about 50m from his best mate when he heard him screaming for help.

He jumped off his board and hauled Brett on, paddling to shore before the pair caught a wave which pushed them to the safety of the shore.

“I saw the shark thrashing around but I couldn’t comprehend at that time what was happening,” he said.

“Hearing Brett scream, I was just acting on adrenaline, I thought unless I paddle over to him, because no one knew at that point what was happening, then it could all be over in a few seconds.”

The quick-thinking actions of another surfer helped save the young boardrider’s life.

After he reached the shore, he tried to keep his mate’s head out of the water as he had taken in “a fair bit of water”.

“I grabbed his leg rope and tied it as tight as I could around the top of his thigh,” he said.

He then called to his girlfriend Agie, an ICU nurse at Wollongong Hospital, for help.

She helped him use the leg rope as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

“I was pleading with him to stay with me, at that stage he was fading in and out of consciousness with the loss of blood and shock of what had happened,” Joel said.

“I just kept saying ‘mate stay with me, I’m here, help is coming’.”

The shark victim was air lifted to St George hospital in a serious but stable condition. Picture: Simon Bullard. Picture: Simon Bullard

Emergency services arrived a short time later and he was stretchered to the nearby headland where a CareFlight helicopter was waiting.

Locals and emergency services have hailed the efforts of Joel and the quick-thinking of others who helped on the beach.

“He was very lucky the members of the public were there and acted as they did. They saved his life, to tell you the truth.” Sydney doctor Nathan Trist praised his brother on Twitter.

“So proud of my brother for paddling 50m, getting Brett to shore and putting leg rope tourniquet on,” he wrote.

Family members talk to police and emergency services at the scene. Picture: Simon Bullard

Kiama Council lifeguard supervisor Andy Mole said Mr Trist had saved his mate’s life.

“Some of their actions were amazing last night; a few of the surfers got it of the water straight away and honked their horns to get people out of the water ... the tourniquet application, stemming the blood saved his life,” he said.

“It’s more dramatic when you know the person, we all know Brett from the boardriding club and he’s such a talented kid.

“He’s always got a big quirky smile on his face ... he’s just a great guy, he’s a good guy to be in the surf with and he kind of pushes everyone and he’s a great surfer to watch.”

It is understood Brett was to compete at the upcoming World Qualifying Series for a shot to join the tour.

He told police he didn’t see the predator. He was bitten on the thigh and his right hand was gored as he tried to fend off the shark.

Friends and family gathered at the beach before heading to St George Hospital where Brett was flown. Picture: Simon Bullard

Only 14 deadly great white sharks have been tagged in the past seven months as part of the Baird government’s SharkSmart app program, leading to concerns the technology is giving beachgoers a false sense of security.

Mr Connellan is a well known surfing figure in the south coast beach community and is the store manager of a local surfboard shop.

The shop’s owner Dylan Perese expressed his grief over his friend’s accident on social media.

“I still can’t comprehend it. Sharks are always in the back of every surfers mind but we never think it’s going to happen to someone we know, let alone your store manager and right hand man,” he said.

The victim was taken to St George Hospital where visibly distressed friends and family rushed to his side. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Last year Mr Connellan praised Australian surfing star Mick Fanning on Facebook for fighting off a shark attack during competition, hailing Fanning’s colleague Julian Wilson as a hero for paddling in to help.

“It’s crazy what people are prepared to do for their mates, they’re both absolute heroes in my eyes,” he wrote.

Bombo Beach and neighbouring beaches were closed today with lifeguards undertaking jetski patrols of the water in search of the shark.

Experts says the shark that attacked Mr Connellan was likely a great white or bronze whaler.

Family and friends of the shark attack arrive at St George Hospital. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Fifteen bull sharks have also been tagged since August, when the government unveiled its monitoring program in the wake of a spike in shark attacks off the north coast.

The Department of Primary Industries said it would analyse the bite marks on the man’s thigh and hand to determine the species of the shark.