Sharks are following their prey and moving closer to famous coasts as the aquatic world changes. Shark attacks on surfers and deep-sea explorers are common. It is, however, not a common occurrence. According to CNN, concerns have recently been raised after sharks killed seven people in Australia as of October last year. The last time the country had such a high number of deaths was in 1934. There have been 21 shark attacks so far this year, which is average and comparable with past years. The fatality rate is the difference.
Some experts believe that this is bad luck because year-to-year figures always vary. However, there is another factor to consider: the global warming crisis. The rise in ocean temperature is destroying ecosystems and forcing them to adapt. Fish are migrating to previously unknown areas. The habits of species are evolving. Sharks are following their prey and moving closer to famous coasts as the aquatic world changes.
However, we have seen many of the world's worst shark attacks in movies; this time, this article will tell us about the world's top ten worst shark attacks.
USS Indianapolis
When their American vessel, the USS Indianapolis, was torn in half by Japanese torpedoes in July 1945, more than 900 sailors were thrown to the mercy of the Pacific Ocean's sharks. When rescuers arrived four days later, they discovered 579 men dead, many of whom had been torn to bits by circling sharks. Only 316 people survived, according to Woody James "Hundreds of sharks were in the area... Everything would be silent until you heard someone scream, signaling that a shark had caught him."
Shirley Ann Durdin was diving for scallops in Australia's Peake Bay in 1985 when she was attacked by a great white shark that was roughly 20 feet long. The 33-year-old was torn in half by the massive shark in its first bite, as her husband and four children stood on the shore in despair. All that was left of her when rescuers came was her headless torso floating in the ocean. The shark reappeared shortly later and devoured it as well.
During the severe heatwave of 1916, four people were killed in a series of shark attacks along the shore of New Jersey in the United States. The first fatality, 25-year-old Charles Vansant, died after sharks tore the flesh off his leg while he was swimming in the early evening. Charles Bruder, 27, was killed five days later when a shark tore into his midsection and amputated his legs as he swam off the Spring Lake beach.
Six days later, on July 12, the final attacks took place in Matawan Creek. As he splashed in the creek with pals, Lester Stillwell, a 12-year-old local lad, was dragged underneath. Stanley Fisher, 24, dove into the ocean to look for Stillwell, but was attacked by the shark and died from his injuries. Two days later, the 12-year-mangled old's body washed up 150 feet upstream.
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Robert Pamperin was diving for sea snails off the coast of La Jolla Cove in California in June 1959 when his buddy, Gerald Lehrer, overheard him beg for aid. Lehrer turned around to see his pal standing unusually high in the water, his mask removed. Lehrer watched Pamperin slowly vanish under the crimson waves as he swam closer, and when he dove beneath the surface, he saw his friend being dragged to the seabed in the teeth of a 22-foot shark. The US Coast Guard discovered only a single swim fin while searching the water for his remains.
In 1984, four shark attacks happened over the course of 15 days off the coast of the United States, starting with the grisly death of a 28-year-old abalone diver. Chris Rehm, Omar Conger's buddy, was resting vertically in the water and staring out to sea when a great white shark sprang up out of the water behind him. "It grabbed him from behind and yanked him beneath the water while severely shaking him," Rehm subsequently told researchers. Conger was then freed by the shark, who swam directly at his partner. Rehm swam ashore with his pal on their diving mat, but Conger drowned in the water.
In 1952, while swimming near Lover's Point off the coast of California, observers saw 17-year-old Barry Wilson convulse violently from side to side. Witnesses observed a shark rear out of the water and strike the young tuba player from behind, dragging him beneath the water. Wilson reappeared in a pool of blood, screaming and swinging his arms. Five other swimmers tried for 30 minutes to get him back to the beach through the high surf, but he died before they arrived.
Terrence Manuel's right leg was ripped off by a 10-foot white pointer in 1974 as he fought to get aboard a boat driven by his friend, John Talbot. The 26-year-old was diving in 30 feet of water for sea snails when he popped through the surface and yelled "shark!" Talbot hurried to save his friend, but he was powerless to stop the attack, and he was forced to watch Manuel bleed to death in the water.
Cliff Zimmerman and his friend Randall Fry were abalone diving off the coast of California in 2004 when tragedy struck. Zimmerman said he glanced away from Fry for a fraction of a second before hearing a "whooshing sound" and feeling the water move "as if a boat passed by." He looked back to see Fry gone and a shark fin briefly surfacing before the water turned red. Zimmerman swam for his life; the next day, his companion's severed head and body were discovered separately.
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Rodney Fox, aged 13, was defending his Australian spear-fishing title in 1953 when he was caught in the middle and carried through the water upside down by a great white shark. As he gouged the predator's eyes, he was released, but the animal soon returned and attacked him again. Fox slammed his arm down the beast's throat before yanking it away, shredding the flesh from his arm in the process. After releasing him, the shark reappeared a third time, dragging Fox over the ocean floor.
The teen has been dragged on board a nearby boat with his ribcage, lungs, and upper stomach exposed after nearly drowning. His main arteries miraculously stayed intact, and he survived four hours of surgery with 360 stitches.
Brook Watson, a British merchant seaman, was swimming in Havana's harbor in 1749 when he was attacked by a shark that attacked him once and then attacked him again. Crewmates spotted the incident and dragged the 14-year-old from the bloodied water, saving his life. Despite losing a foot to a shark and then having his leg amputated, Watson became the Lord Mayor of London after serving as a Member of Parliament for nine years.
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