An American surfer is recovering in hospital after being attacked by a shark at Balian, on the western coast of Bali, yesterday. According to reports the surfer known simply as Ryan, from San Diego, was surfing at approximately 7am when the incident occurred. He was bitten on the elbow and forearm before riding a wave to shore, where he was rescued by fellow surfers.
Local resident Twiggy Van Ryan, 47, from Cronulla was eating breakfast when he noticed the surfer holding his elbow while trying to make his way out of the water at around 7:15am, reports news.com.au.
“I thought he just injured himself and his girlfriend came running up the beach and said it was a shark attack,” said Van Ryan.
“As much as I was trying to help, I didn’t stop to consider how much blood he’d already lost. He blacked out on the beach for a little while, less than a minute,” he said, adding that the victim apparently surfed a wave in after the attack.
“I guess the most unnerving thing was that there have been a few attacks up here in Bali. This one was what I would refer to as a more aggressive manner.
“It wasn’t easy to call it a mistake. Other people had been bitten on the hand or foot in murky water, this one had more of an aggressive undertone to it.”
Balian is located outside a river mouth and according to Van Ryan it was most likely to have been a bull shark that hit the surfer. According to reports this is the fifth attack to take place at the spot in the same number of years.
“If it had got him on the thigh, he would have a lot more to worry about,” he said.
Later Mr Van Ryan posted on his Facebook account that he had spoken to friends of the victim who indicated that the surfer was recovering after undergoing surgery.
“Also I spoke to friends of the bite victim and he is recovering well after surgery, good news they say no ligament damage just heaps of stitches and major bruising, muscle tears etc,” he wrote.
Our thoughts go out to the victim.