After a huge shark started circling the surface of their water, a group of swimmers found themselves stranded at a tourist site.
These terrified captives stood on top of a large boulder, just a short distance from Twilight Beach in Esperance (on the south coast) on Thursday last week.
The swimmers saw a white shark below the water surface just moments before jumping from the rock.
The ABC reports that sharks are common around Esperance’s coastal city. In fact, Esperance has had three deadly shark attacks within three years.
A group of swimmers had just jumped off the rock to the ocean, and a white shark was seen below them (pictured).
To warn swimmers, a shark alarm was quickly activated. However, those on the rocks were still trapped.
Barry Graham from local had been on the sand when it happened and revealed that some members of the group ran to shore after they felt the coast was safe.
Meanwhile, two others decided to stay put on the rock, and members from the Esperance Goldfields Surf Life Saving Club were deployed for the rescue mission.
The giant shark can be seen in aerial footage swimming past captives, seemingly unaware of panic caused by its presence.
Dane Holdman was among the men in the inflatable boat, which pulled alongside the rock to rescue them.
Esperance is a coastal city in Western Australia that has seen three fatal shark attacks over the past three years.
He stated, “Personally, I would not have gone into the water due to the sharks and the surf lifesaving crews on their way,”
The WA government should take additional steps to prevent shark attacks. Since 2017, there have been three.
A new shark barrier was built at the foreshore of the town to provide residents with some safety and security during the summer.
Although the facilities are popular, local surfers and those who have been dedicated to surfing have grown increasingly worried about the sharks.
Premier Mark McGowan introduced non-lethal methods to manage sharks, including drum-lines and shark deterrent devices.
To provide residents with some security and peace over the summer, last month a shark barrier and safe swimming area were installed on the towns’ foreshore.
The success of shark-tagging is evident with 41 sharks being tagged from the Esperance coast over the last four years. This represents more than half the total number of tags across the state.
The local community was particularly rattled by the death of diver Gary Johnson who was attacked by a giant shark just south of West Beach in January 2020.
He was diving at the time with his wife, 57 years old. She tried to save her husband but failed by hitting the shark with a camera.
Tests of his diving equipment revealed a great-white. The tragedy happened less than 2 years after another teenager died.
Andrew Sharpe, a surfer from Esperance was also attacked by sharks in October 2020. This led to the construction of three shark-warning towers.