A former Australian Navy diver was conducting a standard training drill when his life was abruptly put in peril following an unexpected shark attack.
Paul de Gelder's remarkable survival hinged on his military composure and determination not to be dragged to his demise by the predator in Sydney Harbour, Australia.
The Melbourne-born man compared the pain of the assault to having two rows of 36 razor blades on each side of his leg and wrist, slicing through his skin.
Despite surviving the ordeal, Paul lost a hand and a leg in the brutal eight-second bull shark attack in February 2009. He remembered: "The shark grabbed me by my right hand and the back of my right leg in the same bite."
The bull shark - ranked third deadliest in the world - then yanked him underwater and started to violently shake him. "I tried to fight it off, but it had my hand, so I couldn't do anything with it," he explained.
As a schoolboy, he'd been instructed to strike a shark in the eye if he ever found himself under attack.
He stated: "My left hand couldn't reach the shark's eye, and when I tried to punch it in the nose, it started shaking me. The pain was just so all-encompassing that the fight just went out of me.
"I was a rag doll in this monster's mouth whilst getting thrashed around underwater. I was in total agony and drowning at the same time."
At the age of 31, Paul attempted to poke the killer in the eye as well as punching and shoving it - anything to prevent it from consuming him like an easy meal,reports the Mirror.
"From going to jab him in the eyeball with my hand, to working out that my hand was in his mouth as well, to trying to go for the eyeball with my other hand, pushing it, punching it, then going under water, coming up, and going back down," he said.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
