Image by NSW Police Force
Surfing star Kai McKenzie lost his leg after encountering a ten-foot great white shark off the coast near Port Macquarie, Australia earlier this week.
After a wave carried him back to shore, an off-duty police officer used a dog leash as a tourniquet to stem the bleeding and save his life.
And miraculously, KcKenzie’s lost leg also washed up on the beach shortly after, where it was promptly put on ice and transported to the hospital, giving him a slim chance of being reunited with his missing limb — though it remains unclear if that’s still on the table, according to the Washington Post.
It’s not even the first serious injury McKenzie has sustained.
“He has been through a lot breaking his [neck] last year, he never once complained always just got on with doing what he loved as soon as possible,” McKenzie’s sponsor and surfwear company Rage wrote in an Instagram post. “He is an inspiring person.”
Authorities are now looking to trap the shark and transport it away from the beach, which was shut down following the incident. According to Australian news station 9news, equipment detected 15 white sharks off Port Macquarie in the past week alone.
McKenzie’s surfboard, which had a massive chunk missing out of its tail end following the attack, was also collected by local police.
The surfer is in stable condition, and whether he’ll have a chance of being reunited with his lost reg is still unknown.
The odds of being attacked by a shark are one in 11.5 million, the Florida Museum estimates. Last year, there were only 69 unprovoked shark attacks on humans worldwide, just ten of which were fatal. Experts suggest most unprovoked bites are caused by sharks confusing humans with seals or sea lions.
While incredibly unlucky, McKenzie’s encounter could’ve been much worse. In one particularly gruesome incident last year, a Mexican diver was decapitated by a great white shark, shocking even experts.
More on shark bites: Cruise Ship Alarmed to Discover a 50,000-Pound Dead Whale Stuck to the Front of It, Seemingly After Getting Run Down and Dying
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