Shark mauls diver, 31, as 7ft beast bites man’s arm during morning swim sparking hospital dash in Australia

A TERRIFYING 7ft shark sank its teeth into a diver’s arm off the coast of Australia in the latest of a series of near-fatal attacks. The 31-year-old was around 160ft off Tasmania’s Bruny Island when the predator suddenly struck, leaving him with a gruesome arm injury. The attack took place off the coast of Bruny Island Credit: Alamy The victim was bitten on the forearm by the huge creature Credit: Alamy Emergency crews rushed to the scene, before airlifting the victim to hospital in a stable condition. Authorities have since revealed he sustained non-life-threatening injuries to his forearm. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Inspector Darren Latham said: “The man was diving with two other people at a depth of eight metres (26ft) and approximately 50 metres (160ft) offshore from Coal Point, Adventure Bay, when he was bitten by what is believed to be a two-metre-long broadnose sevengill shark. “The man was able to return to shore and was assisted by fellow divers, who contacted emergency services about 9:10am. One concerned witness told ABC the victim was a “keen diver” who had gone out spearfishing with a group of friends. “The guy who was bitten had speared a fish and had been bitten by the shark while retrieving the fish on the spear,” he said. Another witness, who was at the beach with his family, said: “We were just having breakfast, talking about going for a bit of a cold plunge, and then we saw there’d been someone bitten by a shark. “We don’t hear about shark attacks too often in Tassie, let alone Bruny. Most read in The Sun “It’s a very low chance of getting bitten. I mean, we’ve swum our whole lives and we don’t really worry about it.” Police later confirmed that no further sightings of the colossal shark had been reported. “While this appears to be an isolated incident, we are reminding anyone planning to swim or dive in the area to remain vigilant, follow local safety advice and be aware of their surroundings,” Latham said. This latest attack comes after a string of horrifying incidents across Australia. Last month, a 35-year-old woman was forced to have her arm amputated after being mauled by a shark off the coast of Sydney. Leah Stewart, 35, was pulled from the sea in “a pool of her own blood” after onlookers heard a chilling scream. This shocking incident has since prompted a safety review at some of the country’s most popular beaches. In June, a man was killed in a shark attack while fishing off the coast of Western Australia in the nation’s latest fatal incident. Just weeks earlier, a 39-year-old fisherman died after being attacked on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. Only a week before that, a 38-year-old was fatally mauled by a shark off an island near Perth, Western Australia. Comment now