South Africa Great White Shark Attack Video: Swimmer Loses Leg

by NowPublic Staff | September 28, 2011 at 03:27 pm

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Fish Hoek Great White Attack: Video

British expat Michael Cohen went for a swim in False Bay, even though the beach at Fish Hoek was closed due to great white sightings. False Bay is world famous for its great whites and their breaching- you may have seen the Air Jaws films during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

150 feet from shore, Cohen was attacked by a great white shark, which bit off one of his legs and badly injured the other. He was helped ashore by an unknown bystander. The aftermath of the attack was caught on video; you can see a large shark swimming not far from shore.

Michael Cohen, a 42-year-old accountant who lives and works in nearby Cape Town, was well known at the beach, and had a reputation for ignoring shark warnings.

Monwabisi Sikweyiya, one of the shark spotters, helped drag Mr Cohen from the water and used his own shorts and belt as tourniquets. “He was well known to all of us because he was a regular swimmer here,” said Mr Sikweyiya. “He was very interested in sharks and respected them, but never took any notice of our warnings. If he wanted to swim, he swam. We warned him often that he was taking a risk, but he always said 'if a shark takes me, then blame me, not the shark’.