Tuesday, May 28, 2024 -A diver has revealed what it was like to be swallowed head-first and whole by a great white shark.
Eric Nerhus, from Eden, Australia, was
diving near the reefs at Cape Howard in New South Wales in January 2007 looking
for abalone, a type of edible sea snail, when the killer beast approached him
The seasoned diver, who was 41 at the time,
found himself inside the stomach of the 10-foot-long shark as its piercing
teeth sunk into his flesh.
The creature then tried to swallow him
whole, crushing his head and chest, which were luckily protected by his heavy
diving gear.
Speaking about being inside the shark, he said: "One minute it was daylight, the next second everything went black.
"Inside the jaws, it was just dark, I
couldn't see anything because I was looking down the back of his throat. I've
never experienced anything like it."
He further described how he escaped the
shark's clutches.
Eric told Nine Network News at the
time: "Half my body was in its mouth. I felt down to the eye socket with
my two fingers and poked them into the socket.
"The shark reacted by opening its
mouth and I just tried to wriggle out. It was still trying to bite me. It
crushed my goggles into my nose and they fell into its mouth.
"I’ve never felt fear in my life like
what I felt in the jaws of that white pointer. “I went straight into its mouth,
front onwards. Half my body was in its throat. It was like being in a dark
cave.”
He wriggled out and swam to the surface
where he was helped back onto his boat by his son as the shark circled.
Co-worker Dennis Luobikis praised Eric's bravery and
described how he escaped.
He said: "He pushed his abalone chisel
into the shark's head while it was biting, and it let him go and swam
away.
"Eric is a tough boy - he's super fit.
But I would say that would test anyone's resolve, being a fish lunch."
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