Shark bites off man's foot
A South African man is recovering in hospital today after a shark bit off his foot while he was taking part in a lifesaving training exercise.
Achmat Hassiem, 24, was attacked at a Cape Town beach popular with surfers. He and his brother, Taariq, had been in the water, acting as patients for three lifesavers in a boat about 220 yards from shore.
Achmat first saw the shark and shouted a warning to Taariq, who was pulled on to the boat by the other lifesavers. The shark, believed to have been a Great White, then went for Achmat and dragged him under the water.
Achmat was later pulled into the boat, his leg “dripping with blood”, said his brother.
“The shark actually turned around and came for us again,” Taariq said. “It actually knocked the boat quite hard, but there were five of us in it so it couldn’t knock it over.”
The False Bay coastline is known for sharks. Authorities employ shark watchers in the hills above the sea to sound the alarm, but the attack happened too far away from the shore to be seen.
