DATELINE: 4 March 2003

DIVER ATTACKED BY MAKO SHARK

A man is in hospital with severe arm lacerations after being attacked off Stewart Island, New Zealand by a mako shark while trying to climb back onto a dive boat.
The attack is the first such recorded incident in the area, though large sharks are common. The man was diving with friends at Muttonbirds islands. He had finished his dive and was climbing back onto the boat when the shark attacked, seizing him by the arm. The diver and the boat crew tried to beat the large mako away, but it made repeated attacks. He was flown to hospital in Invercargill suffering from loss of blood and severe lacerations.
Stewart Island is at the southern-most tip of South Island, New Zealand and is famous for being the home of the kiwi bird. The island hit the headlines earlier this year when a number of whales became stranded on the beaches there.