Sky News Article

Fishermen had to cut the head off a shark after it bit one of their colleagues and refused to let go.

The victim had just caught the 10ft mako shark and it was hauled onto their boat.

Things went wrong when the 20-year-old Australian stepped on its tail and the fish then bit his leg.

The creature held on tightly for several minutes and the other men were forced to slice off its head to release its jaws.

The deckhand, who had been fishing for tuna, was airlifted to hospital on the Gold Coast.

He suffered a bite to the bone of his leg and his condition was described as stable before he underwent surgery.

A paramedic said the victim was lucky to be alive because the bite narrowly missed major arteries.

Brian Russell, a spokesman for the rescue service, said: "He was fishing with a reel off a boat and caught a mako shark.

"The shark was three metres in length and 90 kgs in weight. They brought it on deck and the man stepped on its tail.

"The shark whipped around and latched onto his right calf.

"They couldn't release the shark's jaw, so they had to cut off its head to release the jaws."