Russian diver Vladimir Skutelnik was rushed to hospital after suffering serious shark bites to his thigh and calf. He was using a fishing net and managed to deflect the shark by entangling it.

The incident happened in the Pacific Kunashir island, in the far east of Russia, north of Japan.

The diver claimed that a great white shark attacked him at depth, and that he fought it off with his fishing net. He suffered serious injuries to his leg, and was also treated for decompression sickness at a hospital in Yuzhno Kurilsk.

It is believed to be the first reported shark attack in Russian waters as there are no recorded reports of shark attacks in Russia on the International Shark Attack File website.

Experts believe that the shark involved is unlikely to have been a great white, but more likely to have been a blue shark or salmon shark, both of which are more common in the north Pacific.

The shark is likely to have been attracted by the fish caught in the diver's net. Shark attacks on divers are very rare, and the majority involve divers who are fishing, usually with a speargun.

More links of interest
Swimming with sharks
International Shark Attack File


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