Plett Shark attack

Van Heerden, a old local from the area known for his craft in making Ugg boots, had lost lots of blood by the time he was pulled out of the water by fellow surfer Charles Reitz. According to reports, his leg was badly mauled and doctors desperately tried to save him on the way to ICU.

It is believe he was bitten in the groin area, and that his femoral artery was servered. Eye witness reports says that the shark looked like a two metre great white shark.

In an interview with Zigzag surfing magazine, Reitz said he had been watching the waves when he saw the shark take Van Heerden on the inside in small surf.

"He had lost all of his blood and his heart stopped twice on the rocks. The shark severed his femoral artery. Sea Rescue from Plett were on the scene quickly," he told the Zag.

Zigzag interview here

Page will be updated as more details emerge.

On Friday 18 August, the NSRI  warned all water users about the higher risks associated with sharks at this time of the year, when tye venture closer to the shore to look for food.

Spokesman Craig Lambinon said that volunteer Sean Searle saw a great white in the vicinity of three surfers at Lookout Beach and that they were buzzed by the shark, which circled them a couple of times. The surfers got out of the water on the next wave.

According to one of the surfers, Fanie Moller, the shark they saw was about 3m long.

Soplett.com, a local website, confirmed that Allison Kock of the Save Our Seas Foundation said that Seal Island in False Bay was showing signs of a decreased shark population, supporting the theory that the sharks normally found around Seal Island were moving closer towards the shoreline.

Studies have shown that this trend occurs around this time of year.

Bathers and surfers were also cleared from the sea by shark spotters at Muizenberg and at Fish Hoek on numerous occasions over the past week.