A 10-year-old Australian boy ‘thought he was going to die’ after being attacked by a shark while snorkeling.
Jackson Bartlett and his dad were 75 meters off shore in Coral Bay, Western Australia on Friday, when a shadow approached from behind.
Jackson was bitten on the leg by a 2-metre shark, leaving him with two deep gashes in his foot.
“I thought it might have been a reefy [Reef Shark] but then it tried to bite me” He told 7 News from his hospital bed.
"It bit my flipper off and then bit me again and bit my other flipper off and got my leg…I thought I was going to die because it was really scary."
Hearing distressed cries from his son, Blake Bartlett described to 7 News the frantic moment he got Jackson back to shore.
“Instinct kicks in and you just had to get him in as quick as possible, make sure it wasn’t chasing us and whatnot and had him under one arm and frantically kicking”
Once back on shore, nearby off-duty doctors helped the bleeding schoolboy before he was flown to Perth’s Childrens Hospital for treatment.
It is believed to have been a Bronze Whaler who attacked the school boy.
"I want to go back surfing. I still like sharks. But I just don't want to swim too close to big ones like that” Jackson told 7 News.
