‘Hero’ who rescued shark attack victim Mani Zhang ‘wasn’t thinking’ about the shark or his safety when he jumped in the water to save her
A man hailed a “lifesaver” after he rescued a woman mauled by a shark has revealed he “wasn’t thinking” when he heroically leapt into the water.
A “hero” bystander who rescued a woman mauled by a shark off Sydney’s south has revealed he wasn’t thinking about the potentially lurking shark when he leapt into action, with the risk to his own safety trumped by the desperate need to save her.
Mangyon “Mani” Zhang, 57, was swimming laps about 10m from the shore at Gunyah Beach in Bundeena last month when she was mauled by what’s believed to have been a bull shark.
Meant to just be a quick swim, Ms Zhang told 60 Minutes she felt as though she’d been stung by something before she got a “very eerie feeling” that something had gone past her.
“I was so scared. I said, ‘Oh, what’s that?’” Ms Zhang told the program.
“And then I just saw this, like, lots and lots of blood coming out, and the water just became too red and red and red. I was so scared by then.”
While she didn’t see the shark, she knew she’d been bitten by one by the sheer amount of blood pouring out from her.
She said she was “frozen for a minute” out of fear the shark might come back before she screamed out for help.
“I just scared I will be bleeding too much and I’ll be dead,” she said.
“I’ll be dead, or shark coming back to attack me again. I will be dead.”
Blake Donaldson and his partner Ellen Melchert were the only people on Gunyah Beach at the time.
Hearing Ms Zhang’s screams for help, Mr Donaldson quickly jumped into action, telling the program “fight or flight” had kicked in.
“Sure, there could be a shark, but my reaction was just, ‘I just have to save this woman’,” Mr Donaldson said.
“I wasn’t thinking about the shark. I wasn’t thinking about my own safety.
“I just can’t watch this woman drown.
“It’s either you just watch someone drown or you go out and help them.”
‘I think that I will probably die’
Back on the shore, Ms Melchert managed to apply first aid as Ms Zhang struggled to stay conscious.
The 57-year-old said she was scared if she fell asleep she might “never wake up”.
“For that moment I think that I probably will die,” she said.
She blinked back tears recalling how she had just wanted to see her partner, Maria, at least one more time.
“I don’t know if I would make it, but I wanted to see, you know, that if I can see her last time,” she said.
The 57-year-old said at one stage she could only see colours in front of her, and that she thought she heard someone say “She doesn’t have any pulse”.
“I can’t move. I can’t even think. I can’t breathe,” she said.
Intensive care paramedic Marco Aielli said it was clear Ms Zhang had lost a “catastrophic amount” of blood, as her blood pressure was 60 and going down when he arrived at the scene.
Amid the chaos, Ms Zhang recalled her fears seemed to drift away.
“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” she said.
It came as a surprise to her when she woke up alive after undergoing surgery.
More than a month later, Ms Zhang was able to reunite with Mr Donaldson and Ms Melchert, telling Mr Donaldson he was her “lifesaver” and “hero”.
“Nah, you don’t have to thank me,” Mr Donaldson laughed.
“You saved my life. Words, it cannot express … how thankful I am,” Ms Zhang said.
“We’re just so glad you’re okay,” Ms Melchert said.
Ms Zhang said while the attack itself was “unlucky”, she was lucky to still have her leg, love and support.
“It’s amazing. I’m so grateful,” she said.
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