The incident occurred when Matteo Mariotti, a 20-year-old marine biology student from Parma, Italy, was diving off the coast of Gladstone, Queensland, Australia, when he was suddenly attacked by a shark.
The shark bite resulted in Matteo losing the lower part of his left leg. After escaping from the shark’s jaws, Matteo managed to swim to shore while continuously shouting for help. He mentioned that he was studying abroad in Australia and had just received the news of his grandfather’s passing. Matteo felt very sad and wanted to swim out to sea to calm his mind.
Matteo Mariotti is a marine biology student in Australia. (Photo: Personal Instagram).
“I just wanted to calm down and thought I wouldn’t swim too far from shore. I brought a small camera to dive and film the fish underwater. However, when I dove a short distance from the shore, I felt excruciating pain in my left leg,” Matteo recounted the moment he was attacked by the shark.
When he looked down, Matteo discovered a large shark clamped onto his leg and was trying to pull him underwater.
“The shark was trying to drag me into the ocean. I punched its head and did everything I could to free my leg from its jaws. The pain was unbearable. When I finally broke free, I realized that there was nothing left below my left knee,” Matteo shared.
After escaping the shark’s jaws, Matteo swam frantically back to the beach, shouting loudly to seek help from those nearby. Tommaso Agosti, a friend of Matteo’s who was fishing on the shore, heard his cries and immediately rushed out to pull Matteo to safety.
The young man shares a video of the moment he was bitten by the shark. (Video: Instagram).
The video recorded by Matteo shows blood gushing into the sea from his wound. Matteo expressed his fear of being eaten by the shark, but once Tommaso pulled him onto the shore and provided first aid, he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Tommaso provided first aid and called for rescue. He carried me on his back away from the beach, and the rescue helicopter immediately took me to the hospital,” Matteo added. “I lost a lot of blood from the injury caused by the shark. I didn’t know if the doctors would amputate my leg or try to save some of it.”
Matteo’s family has traveled to Australia to care for him. The doctors reported that the shark bite had severely damaged Matteo’s leg, and they could not save the lower part of his left leg.
According to data from the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the Florida Museum, there have been nearly 160 shark attacks in Australia from 2012 to 2021, resulting in many injuries and fatalities.
It is estimated that there are around 170 species of sharks in Australia, including 70 native species and many that are capable of attacking humans, such as the great white shark, tiger shark, bull shark, and hammerhead shark.
Among these, the tiger shark and bull shark are the most notable. These species are aggressive and can consume anything that comes into their line of sight. They are responsible for the most human attacks worldwide.
