The HORRIFING Last Minutes of Surfer Bruce Corby EATEN ALIVE By Great White Shark!

In July 1994, terror was about to grip the South African community. Unbeknown to swimmers and surfers, sharks had been attracted to South Africa’s coastlines in recent weeks. They had followed the abundant salmon and seals in the area, as well as the recent cving of southern Wright and humpback whales.

 On Saturday, July 9th, 1994, two friends in their 20s, Bruce Corby and Andrew Carter, decided it was a great day to hit the waves on their surfboards. They headed to one of the best surfing spots in the Eastern Cape, Nahon Reef, home to some international surf competitions. As the two friends took their boards off the roof of their car, they looked out to the sea.

 From the clear blue sky, the winter sun was glistening on the water’s surface. The air temperature was about 24° C. The waves were nearing 2 m high with a gentle breeze in the air. They were lovely surfing conditions, and a few surfers were already riding the waves. Bruce and Andrew strapped their leashes to their ankles and paddled out to about 200 m from the shore just beyond the breakers.

 The water was 8 to 12 ft deep over a submerged reef. They were enjoying the time together, feeling the thrill as they caught wave after wave. Andrew was a champion surfer, winning both South African and European titles. After the two had been surfing for about half an hour, Andrew suddenly felt a massive bang from behind him.

before turning his head to look. Andrew knew it was a shark. As he wheeled his head around, he came face to face with a 12-t great white shark. An indescribable terror gripped him. He saw the shark’s enormous jaws clamp around his leg, stripping flesh from bone in one bite. It was like nothing he had ever felt before.

 Initially, as the adrenaline was pumping, he felt no pain, only an immense crushing feeling. As the shark closed its jaws around his entire leg, he yelled, letting out an earpiercing scream whilst desperately trying to fight the shark off. The sea turned red, and Andrew thought this was the end. Another surfer who was nearby saw the drama unfolding, and in a mad panic, he left Andrew and paddled to shore in a desperate attempt to escape himself.

 As the shark continued its ferocious attack, Andrew held on to his surfboard with all his might, refusing to be taken underwater. Momentarily, the shark loosened its grip and Andrew slid off the board. As the shark came for him again, Andrew shoved the board into the shark’s mouth. It chomped down on the surfboard, thrashing its enormous head from side to side as it did so.

 Andrew desperately paddled two or three strokes away, but the shore was a long way away. He knew he couldn’t outswim the shark. The beach was 200 yd out of reach. He would either bleed out before making it or would be taken by the shark. He glanced backwards and saw the enormous beast let go of the board and submerged below the surface.

 He knew it was coming after him. Bravely, he scrambled back to his board and climbed on. Seeing the commotion in the water, another surfer, John Bourne, quickly paddled over to Andrew. Amidst the sea of red, he saw an approaching wave and knew that this was Andrew’s only chance. He shouted at Andrew to ride the wave in. Miraculously, the 6-foot wave carried Andrew away from the jaws of the shark.

He had caught the luckiest wave of his life. His leg was barely hanging on, and he willed the wave to push him faster and faster to safety. He dared not look back, fearing that the shark was trailing him. Mercifully, he made it to the shore. He screamed for help. Two girls who were sunbathing ran over to him, dragging him onto the sand.

 They laid him down, ripping off one of their tops to make a tourniquet around his leg. The shark’s bite had almost taken his entire leg from hip to foot. It was hanging on by a few inches of flesh. His vision became blurred, and then the lights went off. Andrew heard muffled voices as the life slipped from him.

 As he readied himself for death to consume him, Andrew felt calm and at peace with himself. He thought of his life well-lived, of his friends, of his family. But paramedics soon arrived at the scene and rushed him off to the hospital, saving his life. Andrew’s ordeal was far from over, but at least he was out of the water.

 The shark, however, hadn’t finished yet. Moments after attacking Andrew, it leapt out of the water. The 12T giant had turned its attention to Andrew’s friend, Bruce. He cried out as it grabbed hold of his leg. Viciously, it shook him, tearing him from his surfboard. As he was slammed into the water, the air was knocked from his lungs.

 Fighting for the surface, Bruce felt the full force of the shark’s grip on his leg. The pressure was immense and then head gave way. The shark severed Bruce’s right leg completely off just above the knee. This freed Bruce, who was then able to swim for the surface, reaching the sunlight. Bruce gasped for air. The shark continued its attack, biting frantically at his surfboard.

 Another surfer arrived on the scene. As Bruce was thrashing about in his own blood, he tried to get Bruce onto his board, but in a panic, he couldn’t. Bleeding profusely, Bruce scrambled back onto his own board and made a frenzied swim towards shore. With the help of a wave, he body boarded towards the jagged rocks.

 He cried out, “My leg’s gone. I’ve just lost my leg.” Other surfers in the area came to his aid and pulled him from the surf. Using another surfboard as a stretcher, they carried Bruce over the rocks to the car park. Bruce had been conscious up until then. Laying down in the car park, he lost consciousness due to the massive blood loss.

 Within 2 minutes of making it to shore, Bruce had stopped breathing. Paramedics on the scene managed to revive him and stabilize him before taking him to the nearby hospital. Tragically, Bruce never regained consciousness and died the next day at just 22 years old. Shortly after the attack, Andrew moved to the UK for several months respit.

 He has been continually haunted by the tragic memories of that day. The doctors said he may never walk again. But not only is Andrew back walking, he’s also surfing off Britain’s southwest coast. He has kept the surfboard to this day. Blood still smeared on its surface and a huge bite mark taken out of one side.

 It is a reminder to him of how lucky he has been. A reminder that no matter how excellent we may be at surfing or swimming, when it comes to sharks, we can still be considered prey. There have been a number of reports involving shark attacks within minutes of each other. It seems this shark was angry at its unsuccessful attack on Andrew.

 And so its attack on Bruce had been more brutal and more persistent. People talk of mistaken identity when it comes to shark attacks. And it’s often reported that sharks will swim away after the initial bite upon realizing a human since it isn’t their usual prey. But this time it was different.

 This time, the shark came back for more, bringing Bruce Corby to his unfortunate final affliction.