(Sports)Aussie surfer Mick Fanning's brush shark "terrifying": PM
Xinhua, July 20, 2015 Adjust font size:
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has reflected the horror felt by many countrymen who woke up on Monday to "terrifying" vision of local surfer Mick Fanning being attacked by a shark while competing in a tournament in South Africa.
Fanning, from Sydney, was one of two finalists taking part in the J-Bay Open when he was set upon by what has been identified as a great white shark.
Fanning defiantly punched and kicked the animal, before fellow Australian surfer and finalist at J-Bay, Julian Wilson, came to help repel the massive shark.
The pair were rescued by officials on jet skis who dragged them back to shore, unharmed.
Abbott, speaking to the media in Sydney, said he was comforted to hear Fanning was unharmed in the "scary" incident, which left the two surfers understandably shaken.
"I saw the stills in the papers this morning and it's terrifying that such a large shark could be so close to the surfing contest," Abbott said on Monday.
Fanning has 20 career surfing tournament victories, including three at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa where the shark attack occurred.
The event was canceled, and the surfer told the media after the incident that he was lucky to be alive. Endi