A Cape Town lifesaver whose foot was bitten off by a shark at the weekend was in a serious but ”satisfactory” condition on Monday, the Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic said.
”He is still in the intensive-care unit, but I can say that his condition is satisfactory. It’s as expected,” said nursing manager Frankie Redfern.
She said Achmat Hassiem (24) will remain in hospital for several more days.
”We can’t say whether he will need more surgery. It’s too early for that. The doctor will decide after a few days if anything else has to be done,” said Redfern.
Hassiem was airlifted to the hospital on Sunday afternoon where he underwent hours of surgery. He was bitten by the shark at Sunrise beach in Muizenberg at about 11am the same day.
His 17-year-old brother, Taariq, was with him at the time of the incident. The two were on a training exercise in the waves with a team from the False Bay Lifesaving Club.
They were alone together in the deep water, acting as ”patients” for three lifesavers in a boat, when Achmat saw the shark heading for Taariq.
”My brother shouted: ‘Taariq, shark!”’ He knew his brother would not joke about a shark.
Once Taariq had been hauled into the boat it headed for Achmat, but he disappeared beneath the water. Seeing a dark patch, Taariq reached in to grab his brother, not knowing if the shark would bite him.
Achmat was pulled into the boat, his leg ”dripping with blood”, but instead of swimming away, ”the shark actually turned around and came for us again”, said Taariq. ”It actually knocked the boat quite hard, but there were five of us in the boat so it couldn’t knock it over.”
They got Achmat ashore where he was treated by lifesaver medics who controlled the bleeding, elevated his leg and stabilised his condition before he was airlifted to hospital, said National Sea Rescue Institute spokesperson Craig Lambinon.
Lambinon said the attack took place 200m offshore in ”glassy, clear seas with approximately half-a-metre swell and a slight on-shore breeze” at a depth of 2m to 3m.
While there was mostly clear water visibility, a patch near a river mouth was murky.
Lambinon urged bathers, surfers, paddlers and boaters to be careful along that stretch of coast. — Sapa