11-Foot Great White Shark 'Knocks' Surfer Off Board Before Biting It

A surf break in Western Australia was temporarily closed this week after a woman was reportedly knocked off of her surfboard by a great white shark estimated to be some 3.5 meters (roughly 11.5 feet) in length. The woman was unharmed during the attack, but photos of the board showed three bloody dents where the shark had sunk its teeth into the foam.

The woman, who was not identified in reports, was reportedly a Belgian national believed to be in her 20s, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported Monday. The incident was witnessed by an off-duty lifeguard, Tom Van Beem, 23, who described the event to Sydney-based Stab Magazine.

“[O]ut of nowhere I saw the girl get launched into the air, followed a huge pair of fins and the whole side of this Great White,” he said. “I was only a few meters away, and the thing must have been nearly four meters in length.”

After asking the woman if she was alright and confirming that she was unharmed, Beem and the woman then “paddled 50 meters straight to the rocks, floated over the barnacles, and scurried up as fast as possible.”

“She was pretty rattled, tearing up, just kind of in shock I guess,” he said. “I think we all were.”

The incident was initially reported by a member of the public, according to a spokesman for SharkSmart, a government-funded organization aimed at mitigating shark attacks through education and tracking.

“A member of the public reported a 3.5m white shark was acting aggressively toward a surfer,” a SharkSmart spokesman said, according to the Brisbane Times. “A further enquiry through Surf Lifesaving Western Australia has established that the shark has made contact with a surfer's surfboard. [We urge the public to] take additional caution in the Lefthanders to Guillotine Surfing spot area.”

SharkSmart also urged the public to “take additional caution” in the surrounding areas.

Anthony Pancia‏ of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday shared a video of the beach’s empty waters, tweeting : “No takers at Gracetown's surf break s following shark interaction last night which followed a string of tweets indicating sharks about.”