Dramatic new footage has emerged showing the moment a surfer was mauled by a ‘four-metre great white shark’ as horrified onlookers screamed ‘he’s gone’.
Jason Longgrass was bitten at Western Australia’s Lefthanders break at 3pm on Monday, just hours after another man was attacked at nearby Cobblestones break.
The terrifying video shows Mr Longgrass, 41, thrashing in the water as he desperately tried to escape the shark’s jaws.
‘Shark!’ the man filming was heard repeatedly yelling, before another screamed: ‘He’s gone… no he’s swimming, he’s swimming, come on mate, chopper’s coming back.’
Dramatic new footage has emerged showing the moment a surfer was mauled by a ‘four-metre great white shark’ as horrified onlookers screamed ‘he’s gone’
Jason Longgrass (left) was bitten on the leg (right) at Western Australia’s Lefthanders break at 3pm on Monday
As the shark grabbed his surfboard, Mr Longgrass made a desperate dash for the beach, while others rushed to the shore to help.
‘You’re a lucky man. Oh my god,’ one person told the surfer as he showed the nasty gash on his thigh.
Mr Longgrass revealed he was aware of the previous attack just seven hours earlier, but said he wasn’t afraid of sharks, according to Seven News.
‘There’s a tooth that’s buried itself in my leg,’ the surfer said as he was treated by paramedics at the scene, describing the shark as a ‘four-metre’ great white.
As the shark grabbed his surfboard, Mr Longgrass made a desperate dash for the beach
The 41-year-old surfer is pictured shotly after the terrifying attack at Lefthanders break
‘It began to thrash on my board and luckily my leg wasn’t attached to him… It was coming towards me and I was looking at it right at the point of attack.’
The attack unfolded as Alejandro Travaglini underwent emergency surgery after he was bitten on both legs about one kilometre away at Cobblestones break.
The 37-year-old punched the shark as he tried to escape, in an attack witnesses likened to Mick Fanning’s infamous encounter at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.
‘We were watching the surf and suddenly we heard some screams and saw a guy fighting with something in the water,’ a witness told Nine News.
Pictured is the shark believed to be responsible for twin attacks off the coast of Western Australia
Mr Travaglini’s friend said: ‘He was punching the shark and there was three attacks, three different attacks in 20 seconds.’
The victim was helped to shore by friends and strangers who used the rope on his board as a tourniquet to stem his bleeding.
‘There was a fair bit of splashing and the guy went under,’ another witness said.
‘When he ended up coming back up he was able to body surf back into shore and a couple guys helped him out from there.’
Surf photographer Peter Jovic, who witnessed the attack, told the ABC: ‘A shark popped up and pretty much ended up knocking a surfer from his board.
Mr Longgrass’ surfboard is pictured after he was attacked by a shark he described as ‘four metres’
The attack unfolded as Alejandro Travaglini (pictured) underwent emergency surgery after he was bitten on both legs about one kilometre away at Cobblestones break
Mr Travaglini (pictured being treated) is lucky to be alive after he was severely mauled on Monday morning
‘There was a lot more thrashing around. After that it was hard to see what was going on. They got him to shore and started working on him to stem the bleeding.’
The crew of WA’s surf life saving helicopter later spotted a four-metre shark in the water, believed to be a great white.
The Margaret River Pro surfing competition, 15km away, was suspended before resuming at Main Break with enhanced safety measures including skis and drones.
Mr Travaglini has previously spoken out against shark culling, posting on Facebook in 2013: ‘I’d rather be taken by a great white than by a drunk redneck on a V8.’
Mr Travaglini, 37, (pictured) punched the shark as he was attacked in south-west Western Australia on Monday
This whale carcass washed up on shore on Monday and sharks reaching 4.5 metres were seen in the area
Mr Travaglini has previously spoken out against shark culling, posting on Facebook in 2013: ‘I’d rather be taken by a great white than by a drunk redneck on a V8’
Meanwhile, a whale carcass has been removed from the water where the attacks unfolded, with authorities believing in may have been attracting sharks to the area.
A white pointer and two tiger sharks followed the carcass as it was being towed from Lefthanders surf break to Gracetown beach, where it was loaded onto a truck.
Beaches in the area will remain closed until at least Friday afternoon.
The whale carcass was unable to be moved from the beach until Tuesday due to poor weather conditions.
A whale carcass (pictured) has been removed from the water where the attacks unfolded
The carcass was towed from Lefthanders surf break to Gracetown beach, where it was loaded onto a truck. Authorities believe it may have been attracting sharks to the area
A large white pointer and two tiger sharks followed the carcass as it was being towed
The twin attacks have rocked the famous Margaret River surfing community.
Brazilian surfer Italo Ferreira has questioned whether the safety of competitors is being prioritised at the Margaret River Pro.
‘I don’t feel comfortable training and competing in places like this,’ he posted on Instagram.
Fellow Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina also told his six million Instagram followers he did not feel safe surfing in areas where ‘any time, something can happen to one of us’.
The Argentinan-born local was flown to a Perth hospital after friends saved his life by wrapping rope around his legs to stem bloodflow
A WORRYING TREND: 15 RECENT SHARK ATTACKS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
There have been a number of shark attacks – some fatal – in Western Australia over the past eight years
2010
August: Surfer Nick Edwards, 31, dies near Gracetown
2011
September: Kyle Burden, 21, killed while boogie boarding at Bunker Bay
October: Bryn Martin, 64, disappears at Cottesloe Beach
October: US man George Thomas Wainwright, 32, killed while diving off Rottnest Island
2012
March: Peter Kurmann, 33, dies while diving off Stratham Beach
July: Surfer Ben Linden, 24, dies off Wedge Island
2013
November: Chris Boyd, 35, killed at Gracetown
2014
October: Surfer Sean Pollard, 23, loses arm and other hand near Esperance
November: Cameron Pearman, 13, bitten while surfing at Port Bouvard
December: Spear fisher Jay Muscat, 17, killed near Albany
2015
October: Surfer Eli Zawadzki, 18, bitten on the foot at Dawesville
2016
June: Surfer Ben Gerring, 29, dies three days after losing his leg at Falcon Beach
June: Doreen Collyer, 60, killed less than a week later while diving with a friend off Mindarie
2017
April: Laeticia Brouwer, 17, fatally bitten on the leg while surfing with her dad at Esperance
2018
April: A surfer, in his 30s, bitten on the lower leg at Gracetown.