A surfer who helped rescue a fellow boarder mauled by a shark off Western Australia is unsure if he will get back in the water.
Tarryn Sparkes, 19, said his jacket was covered in pieces of flesh and blood while giving first aid to Alejandro Travaglini on Cobblestones beach on Monday.
Mr Sparkes says he will avoid the stretch of surf ‘for a long time’ after the great white attack, he told Perth Now.
Tarryn Sparkes, 19, says he is unsure if he will get back in the water after helping Alejandro Travaglini, who was bitten by a shark on Monday
Mr Sparkes says he will avoid the stretch of surf ‘for a long time’ after the great white attack
The 37-year-old father (pictured) was brutally attacked while surfing off Cobblestones beach in Western Australia
Just moments before Mr Travaglini, 37, was attacked by the four-metre shark, Mr Sparkes had been surveying the waves for danger.
But several surfers down at the beach lookout spotted a huge dorsal fin leap out of the water and appeared to grab Mr Travaglini’s board.
‘I probably won’t be surfing for at least a week or two or maybe even longer — and I won’t be surfing this stretch for a long time,’ Mr Sparkes said.
‘I’ve just got to try and not think about it when I get out there again.’
Fellow boarders had ripped off their leg straps to use as makeshift tourniquets to apply pressure to the wound before carrying Mr Travaglini up the beach
After the attack, Mr Sparkes said he sprinted down to the water while another surfer already in the water tried to help Mr Travaglini get back to shore.
Mr Sparkes said fellow boarders had ripped off their leg straps to use as makeshift tourniquets to apply pressure to the wound leaving their boards floating just off the beach.
‘We just wrapped our jackets and jumpers around his legs to stop the bleeding and keep a bit of compression,’ he added.
Mr Travaglini has had surgery on both his legs following the brutal shark attack as he was given first aid on the beach
The teenager said people were screaming to call an ambulance and the climb back to the car park as one of the ‘longest walks’ in his life.
He described the agonising wait for paramedics to arrive despite it only being a few minutes.
Mr Travaglini has had surgery on both his legs following the brutal shark attack.
Surfers started heading back into the water on Friday after criticising the World Surf League’s decision to cancel Margaret River Pro competition after the savage attack.
The competition was cancelled with five days left to go after two surfers were mauled by sharks nearby off Gracetown.