An Australian surfer didn't hesitate when his wife was attacked by a great white shark off the coast of Shelley Beach in Port Macquarie. Chantelle Doyle, 35, was surfing when the ten-foot juvenile great white bit her right leg. As she struggled to fight off the shark, her husband, Mark Rapley, paddled over and started punching it in the head.
Eventually, the shark let go of Doyle's leg and swam away. Rapley dragged his wife to the shore, where paramedics were waiting. She was stabilized and then airlifted to the hospital with serious injuries to her leg. She is in stable condition after undergoing surgery.
Officials praised Rapley for his heroic actions and saving his wife's life.
"This fella paddled over and jumped off his board on to the shark and hit it to get it to release her and then assisted her back into the beach," Surf Life Saving NSW Chief Executive Steven Pearce said, according to the BBC. "Pretty full-on, really heroic."
Rapley said he doesn't consider himself a hero for jumping into the water to save his wife.
"I did what anyone would have done," Rapley told the Daily Telegraph. "The shark was latched on to her leg. I just jumped into the water."
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