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A SCALLOP diver who was savaged by a shark died in his mate's arms after being pulled aboard his boat yesterday. Suffering horrific injuries, diver Paul Buckland, 23, had cried for help and attempted a desperate struggle for safety.
Mr Buckland was diving for scallops 1.8km offshore near Smoky Bay on the Great Australian Bight in South Australia when the shark struck about 12.30pm.
Chief Inspector Malcolm Schluter said Mr Buckland, a member of a prominent Port Lincoln family, had been in the water about five minutes.
"He surfaced and called out to his mate something about a shark," he said.
"His mate was able to drag him aboard and then he realised, of course, that he had suffered horrific injuries.
"The injuries were dreadful and he died within a minute or two of being brought on the boat."
It is understood Mr Buckland's left leg was bitten off and he had severe torso wounds.
SA Ambulance spokesman Lee Francis said the shark had grabbed Mr Buckland as he was being pulled from the water.
"I understand the man came to the surface; there was a cry for help," Mr Francis said.
"But as the other person tried to get him on board the shark grabbed him and pulled him underneath."
The deckhand called for an ambulance at 12.41pm and raced the boat to meet it at the Smoky Bay ramp. Mr Buckland was dead when ambulance officers arrived.
A friend of Mr Buckland, who did not wish to be named, said the death would shake the local diving community.
"I only saw him this morning. I can't say much more other than that it was very, very tragic and the diving community on the west coast will be very alarmed. It's a close-knit group," he said.
"There's been a lot of shark sightings lately, so this will make things worse. He was a very, very fine young man, only young. He was a very good lad."
The man, an ex-fisherman, said Mr Buckland's diving mate had returned home after being treated for shock in Streaky Bay Hospital. His parents were on their way to be with him.
"The lad on board was only a young lad him-
self so he's in a fair state of shock at this stage," he said.
SA Abalone Industry chief executive Michael Tockley said he believed Mr Buckland was wearing a POD (protection ocean device), which repels sharks, when he was attacked.
"The number of shark attacks in recent months and years indicates they are around and in high numbers," he said.
"From what I have heard today, the deckhand said the POD device was activated -- he told how he had been shocked by it as he tried to pull Paul on to the deck.
"We are very concerned about sharks in the area, particularly if that allegation is true."
Chief Inspector Schluter said the attack was the fourth in the region in 18 months.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,4234448%255E662,00.html |
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