Kite Surfer attacked by shark in Papua New Guinea

[Toby]

Kite Surfer attacked by shark in Papua New Guinea

Sydney - A French diplomat working for the European Union in Papua New Guinea was airlifted to Australia on Monday after a shark attacked him when he was kite-surfing near Port Moresby.

Thomas Viot, 30, was bitten on the right leg by what he believed was a 2m tiger shark on a reef at Hula, south of the PNG capital on Sunday afternoon.

"I managed to ride back with my kite-surf. It was bleeding very badly and I don't know how but I managed to ride back," Viot told AFP from hospital in Port Moresby ahead of being evacuated to Brisbane.

"I lost a lot of blood and the leg needs to have surgery."

A professional kite-boarder, Viot was surfing with two doctor friends visiting from France - a plastic surgeon and general practitioner.

Another friend Christian Lohberger said they were able to give first aid during the two-hour trip back to Port Moresby.

"He was wave-riding in big waves about a kilometre or so offshore when something knocked him off his board and when he surfaced there was a bad cut on his right leg," Lohberger said.

"The shark appeared to have launched itself out of the water at him to take his leg out," he added.

‘Very sharky’ weather

Lohberger said the injury was "quite bad, with some deep wounds, but does not appear to be crippling in that not much flesh was actually ripped away".

It was the second time Viot had been attacked while surfing, he added, with a stingray jumping from the water earlier this year which "put its barb right through his leg and out the other side".

"I have lived and surfed in PNG myself for 30-plus years and this is the first time I have heard of a serious shark attack in the waters around Port Moresby," said Lohberger.

"However, the weather here at the moment is, in surfer parlance, 'very sharky' with unseasonably cool and overcast conditions, grey skies, rain etc."

EU economic attaché Viot has been in PNG for two-and-a-half years and said there were always "plenty" of sharks at the reef, but he did not see the creature before it struck.

He vowed to return to kite-surfing once he had recovered.

[Pike]

Jeez..and I thought that if I was up and away I would be safe....the damn thing jumped up and bit him while riding?? Holy Crap...I'm off to Sharm El Sheik in 3 weeks (site of 2 shark attacks this year!).

[dyyylan]

If a stingray jumped from the water and stabbed me through the leg, then less than a year later a shark jumped from the water and bit me, I'd start to think someone is trying to tell me something

[POACHER]

No doubt!


Options:

A. Move
B. Leg armor
C. Take up golf

[aircatcher]

Gee,he was lucky that leg wound was close enough to fermoral artery.Let's support the shark fishing industry by having some Chinese shark fin soup after sessions , The ocean will be more peaceful place when sharks are going extinct .

[JMF]

Gee,he was lucky that leg wound was close enough to fermoral artery.Let's support the shark fishing industry by having some Chinese shark fin soup after sessions , The ocean will be more peaceful place when sharks are going extinct .

I'll probably be flamed for this, but I'm with you 100%. Flame on Bunny huggers

[Puetz]

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... er-in-PNG/

.... they think it was a barracuda, not shark??????

[JMF]

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... er-in-PNG/

.... they think it was a barracuda, not shark??????

That don't look like no Tiger bite could have been a Mako they like hitting fast moving prey. Many years ago a fellow kiter was hit doing a downwinder in Durban South Africa. A johnny tried to take a bite out his board. Natal Sharks board was notified after the incident and they did a investigation. They measured the bite mark and matched up a Mako they found in nets close to the area and they were around 90% sure it was a Mako about 1.5 meters in length a baby.

[Kamikuza]

There's very few kiters on the oceans safe from Makos - over 100km/h. Get yer race board ready!

[john a]

That´s the one good reason for living way up north...
But it´s going to be a lot of chinese on me from now on... Get rid of those #$"##"$# One sharkfin sup with extra sharkfin please!