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A shark attacked surfer Brad Ross while he was surfing at Cabarita Beach in Australia on Monday, Aug. 18
Ross escaped the attack unscathed, but his surfboard was left in two pieces after being bitten by the shark, according to local media outlets
The attack came weeks after a shark attacked a 16-year-old boy at the same beach, PEOPLE previously reported
A surfer in Australia survived a shark attack unscathed — but the same can’t be said about his surfboard.
On Monday, Aug. 18, Brad Ross was surfing at Cabarita Beach in New South Wales, Australia, around 7:30 a.m.. when a great white shark took a large bite out of his board, according to news.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
In a video shared on social media, Ross was seen splashing in the ocean near the shore amid the incident, per 10 News.
He then left the water with his board two pieces and the equipment missing a large chunk of foam.
The 5-meter shark has since been caught and released, according to the outlet.
In footage, Ross appeared unharmed as he held up his surfboard in two piecess, per ABC and news.com.au.
“Lifeguards on the Far North Coast closed Cabarita Beach on the NSW Far North Coast today after a surfer’s board was bitten on Monday morning, 18 August,” a spokesperson from Surf Live Saving NSW told PEOPLE.
They added, “It comes less than two months after a boy was bitten by a shark at the same location.”
“Just after 8am this morning (Monday 18 August) the Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Centre (SOC) was alerted to an incident at the unpatrolled Cabarita Beach which was called in through Triple 0,” a statement from the organization read.
They continued, “It’s believed a surfer’s board was bitten by a shark. The surfer is unharmed.”
“Australian Lifeguard Service lifeguards were tasked and immediately worked with Council to close the beach and put up signage to warn the public not to enter the water,” the statement added. “SLSNSW UAV assets were used for the rest of the day to observe the beach as a safety precaution.”
The incident was also attended to by NSW Police and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), according to ABC.
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A stock image of a great white shark
In response to PEOPLE’s request for comment, New South Wales Police said they had no oversight over the incident as it didn’t result in a fatality.
PEOPLE has contacted NSW Primary Industries and Regional Development for comment.
Surf Lifesaving Far North Coast’s Dave Rope spoke about how Ross was lucky to have escaped the attack.
“Very, very lucky, I’d be going out and buying a lottery ticket today, I think, if I was them,” Rope told ABC. “I would just say that it is a miracle that no one was injured physically from it.”
“It’s quite a savage bite and large, it’s split in two. There’s no doubt that is probably from the force of the bite,” he added.
Local yoga teacher Kym Falvey also opened up about the incident after watching the event unfold.
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Cabarita Beach, Australia
“The man was sitting on his board and the shark literally bit the board behind his butt,” Falvey told ABC.
“The board just popped, like it exploded, and it flew up in the air and by this time there was a man up on the rocks going, ‘Oi, come in,” she added.
She concluded, “The last time the shark came right into the shallows, so the surfers in the water were saying, ‘We didn’t want to stop paddling until we got onto the dry sand.’ “
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PEOPLE previously reported In June that a 16-year-old boy suffered serious injuries to his right arm, wrist and leg after being attacked by a shark at the same beach.
Other surfers then pulled the boy to safety using a surfboard before he was rushed to the hospital.
The beach was also closed after the attack, per news.com.au.
Read the original article on People
