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NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
Motorist trapped after Great Barrier Island cliff plunge into bay, jogging friend sparks rescue
'I came to in the passenger seat and I had blood all down my face. I thought I hit the water. I thought it was water on my face. 'My internal stomach was so sore. I couldn't move,' the 51-year-old said. Leon Foster spent 10 hours trapped in his car before being rescued after it plummeted off a cliff on Great Barrier Island. Photo / Westpac Auckland Rescue Foster's phone flew out of the window during the car's plunge and wasn't found until the next day. 'I was horrified. It's so traumatic. 'I sat there and the water started coming down by my feet and into the car. 'Because I couldn't get out of either of the doors, and I couldn't move because my stomach, I just sat there and thought, 'Oh, well, this is me'. 'There was water all splashing around my ankles.' Foster said he sat in his car all night because he thought there was no point sounding the horn and yelling out for help, as no one would hear him in the remote location. 'I had no watch, I had no phones, I couldn't tell the time. I sat there, and it was a bright moon, something like the sun's coming up, but it wasn't,' Foster said. Leon Foster, 51, says he must have passed out when his vehicle left the road and tumbled down a cliff. Photo / Supplied Friend sparks rescue mission About 6am, Foster began honking his horn and calling out in hope of catching someone driving past on their way to work. 'I started on the horn and started yelling out, 'help, help' and just kept going for about an hour and a half before someone actually heard me,' Foster said. A friend was jogging and heard him from the other side of the bay. 'She's the first one that actually heard me and was straight on to it.' Another good friend was also one of the first to the scene and called emergency services. An extensive rescue mission off Puriri Bay Rd was sparked and he was plucked to safety. 'The ambulance got there, and they couldn't get to me because I was down a 20m drop,' Foster said. An ambulance worker then climbed through the broken driver's window and started administering first aid. Several other first responders that Foster happened to be friends with from the local fire brigade and police turned up at the scene. 'It actually made me a bit more comfortable knowing everybody,' Foster said. The rescue helicopter was called and Foster was given painkillers before he was removed from the car. 'They had to actually chopper me out. 'Like a winch, put me on a stretcher and chopper me out of there and then take me to a secure location to secure me, and then chopper me to Auckland.' Leon Foster was winched to safety after spending the night down a bank in his car wreck on Great Barrier Island. 'Phenomenal' rescue team Foster was transported on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to Auckland City Hospital to begin his lengthy recovery. 'The rescue chopper team, oh my God, they are phenomenal. They were always checking in with me. They're so professional. I can't thank them enough. 'Turns out I ended up internally bleeding. If I hadn't been saved when I [was] saved, I would have lasted a few more hours and bled out. 'I would have bled to death,' Foster said. 'One hundred per cent, hands down all of them saved my life.' Foster was discharged from hospital last week and continues to recover from the numerous injuries he received. He spent some time in the ICU, including on his birthday, while receiving treatment for serious abdominal and head injuries. 'I got my windscreen and the glass went through my head.' Foster thanked all his friends, nurses and emergency services staff for their life-saving efforts. 'They were just so empathetic. 'I can't believe how they made me feel. 'They were so caring and explaining everything to me and talking to me, not at me.' Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Irish Sun
01-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Chilling vid shows shark chase boy, 16, as he was hauled out of water with ‘arm left hanging off by sinew' after attack
THIS is the unbelievable moment a shark chased a teen as he was hauled out of the water following an attack that left his arm hanging off by sinew. Emergency services were called to at Cabarita Beach on New South Wales ' north coast, Australia just before 4pm on Sunday. Advertisement 6 Rescuers were stalked by the creature as they saved the boy Credit: 9 NEWS 6 Multiple people rushed to help the boy Credit: 9 NEWS 6 The 16-year-old was carried from the scene on a surfboard Credit: 9 NEWS The nearly seven-foot beast - suspected to be a bull shark - Jaw-dropping footage showed fellow surfers and swimmers rushing to help the teen while the shark lurked closely behind him - visible only by its gargantuan fin. Screams could be heard in the background as a brave person punched the shark while others scrambled to safety. But rescuers continued to be stalked by the creature as they carried the injured boy to safety. Advertisement read more news One shocked onlooker exclaimed in the clip: "Oh my God, that's the shark." And another said: "Oh f***! That's really scary!" Thankfully an off-duty paramedic was at the scene and helped the teen using a tourniquet to help stop the excessive bleeding. One of the heroes who raced to help the boy after hearing his deafening screams was Brazilian Thiago Collel. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Breaking Recalling the horror incident, he explained how the boy sustained injuries that left one of his arms hanging off by a thread of sinew. The 39-year-old told Girl, 9, mauled by shark at popular US beach as horrified parents hear her screams and watch water turn red with blood "His bicep was destroyed - you could see all the muscle, flesh and bone. "He lost a scary amount of blood. I was covered in it." Advertisement The group then carried the boy out to safety on a surfboard they used as a makeshift stretcher. Collel said he and several others "were just trying to keep him calm, holding his head and making sure he was okay". He added: "I just kept talking to him and he told me how he fought off the shark by kicking and punching it away." The boy was then airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Advertisement He remains here in serious but stable condition, the news site added. A second chopper was deployed to track down the shark after the horror incident, but to no avail. The species of shark currently remains unknown, but locals believe it was a bull shark. Some even fear it could be a two-metre great white. Advertisement 6 The teen was dragged out and mauled by a shark Credit: 9 NEWS 6 The horror incident was captured on camera Credit: 9 NEWS 6 The boy was then airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Credit: 9 NEWS
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Terrifying vision shows shocking shark attack at Cabarita Beach in NSW
Terrifying vision of the dramatic aftermath of a horror shark attack has emerged of the predator close to shore stalking the teenage victim and his rescuers. A boy, 16, suffered injuries to his right upper arm, wrist and right leg while swimming at Cabarita Beach on the NSW far north coast on Sunday afternoon. Footage has emerged online of the two-metre long shark lurking close to shore still chasing the victim as a group of surfers and fellow beachgoers rushed to his aid. A shark fin emerged from the shallow water as the predator followed the rescuers as they dragged the teen towards the shore. A brave rescuer was also seen punching the shark as other beachgoers fled the water. 'Oh my God, that's the shark,' a shocked onlooker filming is heard saying. A female added: 'Oh f***. That's really scary!' A surfboard was used as a makeshift stretcher to carry the teen to safety. @sebbyds Video from Arch and Katy just after a surf in Caba today. Hope 16yo Ashton is ok. ♬ original sound - sebbyds A teenage boy was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital after being attacked by a shark while swimming at Cabarita Beach, between Tweed Head and Byron Bay (pictured) He was whisked to the nearby car park, where two off-duty paramedics rushed to applied a tourniquet to restrict the boy bleeding. The teen was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, where he remains in a serious but stable condition. NSW paramedic Ben Mumford praised the brave bystanders who rushed to the boy's aid. 'We believe he was swimming at the time,' he told Nine News on Sunday. 'There was a few brave people in the water that helped him out of the water and there was also a couple of off duty paramedics on the scene that assisted him until we arrived.' A second helicopter was deployed to locate the shark, but the aerial search was unsuccessful. The species of shark was involved remained remains unknown. NSW Shark Smart had tagged and released a tiger shark at the same beach three days earlier. Cabarita Beach remains closed on Monday.
Daily Mirror
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Shark attack at 'Ant and Dec beach' leaves teenager in serious condition
A shark attacked a boy at Cabarita Beach on Sunday and he is now in hospital with serious arm injuries A teenage boy has suffered serious injuries after being bitten by a suspected Great White shark at a beach in New South Wales regularly used by TV hosts Ant and Dec. Australian emergency services were called to Cabarita Beach, between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, at 3.50pm on Sunday after the attack. Surfers and two off-duty paramedics rushed to the boy's aid, reportedly applying a tourniquet to help restrict the bleeding. The teen suffered injuries to his arms and hands and was airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter in a "serious but stable" condition. ITV hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, have regularly been spotted enjoying downtime at Cabarita Beach in Australia during the filming of " I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!". They were seen having lunch together at a local cafe and also have been pictured enjoying the beach with their families including regularly swimming there. In NSW, Australia, shark fatalities are rare but it is thought there have been three deaths since 2021. The recent attack comes just weeks after a 17-year-old girl was mauled to death by a shark while swimming at a popular tourist spot at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane. Emergency services had rushed to the scene, with victim Charlize Zmuda treated for life-threatening upper body injuries. Tragically, she later died. Her devastated family said after the incident that they wanted to focus on "incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died". They said in a statement: "Charlize was loved by many and was such a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met." Local Chris Potter told the Courier Mail at the time of what he saw as the devastating scenes unfolded: "People originally thought she had just been caught in a rip. "It was shocking."
Scottish Sun
29-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Teenage boy mauled by shark at popular beach as he's rushed to hospital with ‘serious' arm injuries
The boy was brutally bitten on the arm SHARK HORROR Teenage boy mauled by shark at popular beach as he's rushed to hospital with 'serious' arm injuries A TEENAGE boy has been mauled by a shark at a popular beach and rushed to hospital with "serious" arm injuries. Emergency services were called to reports of the attack at Cabarita Beach on New South Wales' north coast, Australia just before 4pm on Sunday. The teenage boy was badly bitten on the arm and has sustained serious injuries, said New South Wales Ambulance. He was airlifted to Gold Coast University by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and remains in a serious but stable condition. It is not known what type of shark attacked the boy. The attack comes just weeks after a teenage girl was mauled to death in a horrifying shark attack at Bribie Island, north of Brisbane. Read more on World LAB 'COVER UP' WHO still have no idea what caused Covid - but refuse to rule out lab leak Charlize Zmuda, 17, let out a "piercing scream" as she was fatally bitten by the dangerous beast at a popular tourist hot spot in Australia. Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of the attack. Queensland Ambulance confirmed they were responding to a 'serious shark bite incident' and had treated Charlize for life-threatening upper body injuries. Despite their best efforts, the young teen sadly passed away just after 5pm, police said. Devastated family member Renee Zmuda said at the time she would like the community to focus on the "incredible life she lived and not the awful way she died". She said in a statement: "Charlize was loved by many and was such a shining light who truly touched the lives of everyone she met." Shark attack reported at popular US beach as victim rushed to hospital just weeks after 1,600lb beast spotted in state Local swimmer Jenny O'Connor gathered at the beach to lay flowers for Charlize as a group paid their respects to the girl.
