British doctor ‘punches shark’ to survive attack

Sydney : A 25-year-old British man escaped from a shark after “punching it in the face” while surfing in Australia, saying his feat was inspired by professional surfer Mick Fanning.

Charlie Fry, a doctor who moved to Australia two months ago to work, was surfing at Avoca beach, north of Sydney, when a shark leapt out of the water and bit him.

He said he heard a “massive thud” and initially thought it was a friend playing around but turned and “saw a shark’s head come out of the water with its teeth”.

“I turned to the right and I saw a shark’s head come out of the water with its teeth and I just punched it in the face,” he told Nine News.

Dr Fry said he learnt of the escape technique from a YouTube video featuring an interview with Fanning, an Australian who famously punched a shark to survive an attack during a surfing competition in South Africa in 2015.