KZN bite victim recalls moment he saw his hand inside the mouth of a shark
A KwaZulu-Natal diver recalled the moments he saw his hand inside a shark’s mouth.
In a post shared on his Facebook page, Renier Kruger said he knew exactly what was going to happen.
It started out as a “normal day at work”, Kruger said in the post.
“The dive started great, having two bull sharks around the bait ball as we got in the water and moved along after the first two to four minutes of the dive,” he said.
Kruger said it was not long before a residential Oceanic Black Tip named Smiley got onto the bait ball.
He said about half an hour into the dive, Smiley swam up from behind and bit onto his right hand.
“As I looked towards my hand inside her mouth, I knew exactly what was going to happen. I was proven wrong and didn’t lose my hand. I had my girlfriend, Alicia Leonhard, right beside me. After Smiley let go of me, Alicia immediately attended to me once we got onto the boat,” he said.
Kruger was rushed to the Hibiscus Hospital where he underwent a five-hour surgery.
“I am still not 100% sure what everything is wrong with my hand but I was told it was a success. Still waiting to see the doctor that worked on my hand to get feedback from him to know what has been done,” he said.
Kruger thanked everyone involved in his rescue.
“Big thanks especially to David van Vuuren for getting me back to the beach with no time wasted and having the emergency team ready on the ramp,” he said.
Kruger clarified that he did not have bait in his hands and was not reckless on the dive.
IOL