Shark knocks surfer into water off Australian coast

April 26 (UPI) — A Western Australia surfer said he had a near-miss with disaster when he was knocked off his surf board by a 10-foot shark.

Rob Bruce, 60, who said he has been surfing in the southwestern part of the state for 40 years, said he was paddling about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday when he was knocked into the water by the ocean predator.

“I wasn’t a long way from shore, maybe only 100 meters [328 feet], and the shark just hit me from my right side and knocked me off my board,” Bruce told the West Australian newspaper.

“I could only see the back half of it but I could see the fin and the tail fin so I definitely knew it was a shark,” he said. “It thrashed around a bit but the whole thing only lasted five seconds.”

Bruce told 9 News’ Today Show he “just started screaming.”

The surfer said he alerted other surfers to the presence of the animal and they all made it safely to shore.

He said the impact with the shark left a large crack in his surfboard.