A DIVER who survived a savage shark attack was left with the beast’s teeth wedged in his arm as horrific pictures show the grisly aftermath.
Angus Kockott, 20, was snorkelling in the shallows off the island of Mangareva, French Polynesia when he was met with the fearsome sight of the predator swimming towards him.
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The suspected 2.5-metre grey reef shark clamped its jaws onto his arm in a nightmare scenario.
But quick-thinking Angus pulled a four-inch blade used for cutting diving lines from his pocket and stabbed the shark in the gills, forcing the bloodthirsty beast to release its grip.
Angus then swam to safety before an emergency military aircraft was called to fly him to the nearest hospital, where he had life-saving six-hour surgery.
The shark’s sharp teeth severed two of the major nerves in Angus’ arm along with some tendons.
He had skin and nerve grafts – and several teeth and tooth fragments were retrieved from the injured limb.
Angus was out sailing with a friend in May and was attacked when the pair separated to do some free-diving.
Upon sighting the predator, he managed to put out his arm to protect his head and neck as it launched towards him.
Recounting his horror ordeal, Angus said: “When the shark bit, I didn’t have time to panic – you just have to act when you have that kind of adrenaline in those situations.
“At first I felt immense pain – I really thought I would lose my arm.
“Seeing that shark right before it bit me – that was a real ‘oh sh*t’ moment.
“My first reaction was to get my knife used for cutting lines, and I just went for the shark as hard as I could.
“It was only a little knife, but I’m very glad I had it on that day.
“After it released my arm, I couldn’t see anything except for a huge pool of blood around me, but I managed to stand up on a reef.
“My arm was literally squirting blood – it looked like a stripped drumstick.”
Angus tied goggles around his arm to create a makeshift tourniquet.
His friend helped him get to safety in a nearby town, Rikitea, before he was rushed to Taaone Hospital in Tahiti.
The next day, Angus said, doctors took his him apart and had to put it back together again.
After three weeks recovering in Tahiti he flew home to East London, South Africa, for further treatment.
The nerves in his arm had been completely severed by the attack meaning he had little movement or feeling.
He had a skin graft using skin from his left thigh and a nerve graft using nerves transplanted from the back of his heel.
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He said: “If I hadn’t blocked the shark with my arm, it could have gone for my neck – my jugular vein was right there.
“I would’ve been toast.
“Or, if it had come to bite me again, I would have been too injured to fight back or get away.
“I think I would have died then in the water, or drowned.”
He described the attack as a “defining experience” in his life – and as a an apparent memento wants to get the shark’s teeth turned into earrings.
“It’s been a defining experience in my life and that’s why I’m getting the teeth made into earrings.”
Despite suffering many swimmers’ worst nightmare, Angus holds no resentment towards sharks and says he is itching to get back in the water and continue training for a career in sailing.
He said: “My assumption was it was a territory thing – you can’t blame the animal
“After my nerve graft and skin grafts, it’s healing well but I’m taking it day by day.”
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