Surfer miraculously escapes shark attack that left board torn in half

A surfer narrowly escaped a shark attack that left his board snapped in half at a popular beach in Australia.

The Tweed Shire Council said that Cabarita Beach, which lies between Byron Bay and Gold Coast, was temporarily closed on Monday morning after local surfer Brad Ross had a “huge chunk” bitten out of his surfboard.

Surf Life Saving New South Wales responded to the incident at around 7.30am local time and drone monitoring of the shark was launched. Nobody was injured in the attack.

Local witnesses told the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) that Ross was launched from his board in the attack and emerged from the water with his board in two pieces.

Kym Falvey, a local yoga teacher, told the broadcaster: “The man was sitting on his board and the shark literally bit the board behind his butt.”

“The board just popped, like it exploded, and it flew up in the air. By this time there was a man up on the rocks going, ‘Oi, come in’,” she added.

“The last time the shark came right into the shallows, so the surfers in the water were saying: ‘We didn’t want to stop paddling until we got onto the dry sand.’”

“While we know that the surfer is ‘rattled’, we’re very pleased that he got out of the water safely today,” Tweed Shire Council added.

The local surfer was described as “very, very lucky” by Surf Lifesaving Far North Coast’s Dave Rope, who urged caution from fellow surfers.

A five-metre long White shark was caught and released from the SMART Drumline at Norries Headland, Cabarita Beach, at 9.52am, although the shark was later spotted by Dorsal Shark reports just after noon.

Photos posted online showed the surfer on the beach with a large hole in his board.

Professional surfer Kelly Slater, who has won the World Surf League 11 times, said of the incident: “Incredible he’s ok. Great example of why I fear open ocean swimming so much. Surfboards have saved quite a few surfers with that tiny barrier.”

Just two months before, a 16-year-old boy was bitten by a shark at the same location, triggering a multi-agency response involving NSW Police, Surf Life Saving (SLS) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), according to ABC.