Diver's chisel, lead vest sent shark packing

SYDNEY, Australia — A diver who was almost swallowed alive by a 10-foot shark said Wednesday that a lead-lined vest prevented the animal from biting him in half and a chisel used for gathering shellfish allowed him to fend off the fish.

Eric Nerhus, 41, described Tuesday's attack by a shark, believed to be a great white, off the fishing town of Eden, about 250 miles south of Sydney.

Nerhus was working with his son and other divers collecting shellfish when the shark suddenly attacked him about 25 feet below the surface. The shark grabbed Nerhus by the head, said fellow diver Dennis Luobikis, who saw the attack.

"Half my body was in its mouth," Nerhus told Australian television's Nine Network.

Nerhus said he fought desperately. "I felt down to the eye socket with my two fingers and poked them into the socket," he said. "The shark reacted by opening its mouth, and I just tried to wriggle out. It was still trying to bite me. It crushed my goggles into my nose, and they fell into its mouth."

That baleful eye

He said he managed to finally escape the shark's jaws after jabbing at its eye with a chisel he used to chip abalone from rocks and was still holding despite the attack.

Nerhus, who estimated he spent two minutes inside the shark's mouth, said his chest was protected from the shark's teeth by a lead-lined vest used to weight him down in the water.

As he swam to the surface in a cloud of his own blood, Nerhus said, he could still see the shark and feared it would attack again.

"It was just circling around my flippers, round and round in tight circles," he said. "The big, round, black eye, 5 inches wide, was staring straight into my face with just not one hint of fear, of any boat, or any human, or any other animal in the sea."

He was helped into his boat by his son and rushed to a hospital where he was being treated for severe cuts to his head, torso and left arm.

An expert said the shark probably mistook Nerhus for a seal. Seals are common in waters off southeastern Australia and attract sharks.

Scientists say there are an average of 15 shark attacks a year in Australian waters — one of the highest rates in the world — and on average just over one per year is fatal.