Australian shark attack survivor says he hit at the predator's eye in an effort to fight it off

Shark attack survivor Mel Ismail jabbed at the eye of the predator that severed his leg in an effort to fight it off before struggling back to shore, the surfer and professional firefighter said in an interview that revealed new details of his near-dea...

MELBOURNE, Australia -- MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Shark attack survivor Mel Ismail jabbed at the eye of the predator that severed his leg in an effort to fight it off before struggling back to shore, the surfer and professional firefighter said in an interview that revealed new details of his near-death encounter.

The professional firefighter was surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton on Australia's west coast when he was attacked on Sept. 14. He lost his right leg below the knee.

Ismail recalled in an Australian Broadcasting Corp. interview broadcast on Thursday that he was sitting out the back of the surf break and spotted a pod of about 20 dolphins before being hit by something big. It was the first time he has spoken publicly about the attack.

“And suddenly — bang — something grabbed me and dragged me down into the water. And I knew it was a shark,” Ismail added.

Ismail said it looked like the shark winked at him before it bit his leg.

“I got to a point where I saw its eye … a big black eye,” Ismail said.

“But it was winking back at me — I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged,” Ismail added.

Many sharks, including the white shark and mako shark, do not have eyelids, but when attacking prey, they roll their eyeballs backward into their sockets as a protective measure, exposing a tough layer of white cartilage. Authorities have yet to determine the species of shark that attacked Ismail.

Alone and bleeding at the back of the surf break, Ismail caught a wave that took him about 20 meters (66 feet) closer to shore.

Ismail said he was out of breath and losing strength when he spotted surfer Shannan Dunn coming down the dunes on to the beach.

Dunn went to Ismail’s rescue, helping the shark victim on to Dunn’s board.

“The first thing he (Dunn) said to me is, ‘Where’s the shark?'” Ismail said.

Once they returned to the beach, an onlooker crafted a tourniquet for Ismail using a leg rope and another onlooker phoned for an ambulance.