Shark attack victim who was mauled while filming a marine life documentary reveals how she escape the beast’s jaws as she opens on her terrifying encounter from her hospital bed
- Anika Craney was attacked on Tuesday at Fitzroy Island, Far-North Queensland
- The 29-year-old freediver suffered significant leg injuries during the attack
- She was enjoying a day off from filming a documentary on sharks at the island
- Ms Craney airlifted to Cairns Hospital where she underwent surgery to her ankle
- Said when the shark was about to attack she put her fins in front of shark’s face
- The animal backed off when she kicked out at her after it bit her on the left leg
- ‘I was screaming for help I thought that could have been it,’ the deckhand said
A young deckhand who was mauled by a shark has told of the life-saving manouever she performed to prevent the animal from inflicting more damage.
Anika Craney, 29, suffered significant leg injuries after she was bitten by the shark – believed to be a bronzed whaler – while swimming off Fitzroy Island near Cairns on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Craney, who was airlifted to Cairns Hospital where she has since undergone surgery to repair severed tendons in her ankle, was part of a team filming a documentary on wildlife in the Coral Sea.
Speaking from her hospital bed, the young woman said she was swimming back to the boat from the shore when she saw a large shark appear beneath her.
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Deckhand Anika Craney, 29, pictured in hospital after surviving being attacked by a shark off Fitzroy Island near Cairns on Tuesday
‘I had only two seconds before I could respond – I flipped my body around and put the fins in front of the shark’s face, which is what we always do if we see a shark we’re not sure about,’ she told 7News.
She said she realised quickly the shark was going to attack her and that it bit her on the bottom half of her leg – leaving a deep gash between her ankle and the fin.
‘With my right foot I kicked forward and the shark released and I immediately put my hands to my legs to hold it in place and to stop the bleeding, which I could now see was spurting into the water,’ she said.
Tearing up, Ms Craney said she feared for her life as she saw blood pouring out of her leg clouding the water around her – not knowing if the shark was gearing up to attack again.
‘I don’t think I’ve screamed so loud. I screamed, “help me”. In the moment I was screaming for help, I thought that could have been it.’
She said a friend and paddle boarders took her to shore before doctors on Fitzroy Island put a tourniquet on her leg to stop the bleeding.
Ms Craney, who works as a deckhand, loves the ocean, and has been swimming dressed as a mermaid
Bystanders applied first aid to the victim, while paramedics and a rescue helicopter rushed to the scene
She was flown to Cairns Hospital where she is expected to undergo surgery for a fracture to her left ankle.
As she was wheeled into the emergency room, she was heard yelling: ‘I still love sharks. Sharks are beautiful’.
Despite enduring the horrifying attack, Ms Craney, who works as a deckhand, remains passionate about the ocean.
Ms Craney suffered ‘significant leg injuries’ after she was bitten while swimming about 12.10pm on Tuesday
The 29-year-old wants to encourage people not to see sharks as monsters and to visit Australia’s tropical reefs
She was seen smiling as she clutched a book a about sharks from her hospital bed.
Ms Craney’s social media page show Ms Craney swimming dressed as a mermaid.
According to Dean Cropp, captain of the Barefoot II vessel Ms Craney was working on, she was an experienced freediver.
Ms Craney had been on her day off when she decided to swim to the island with another crew member before the attack
Ms Craney, who worked as a volunteer firefighter and lost her home in the Cobargo fires early this year, is now looking at a potentially broken ankle and deep lacerations to her lower left leg
Shark attacks in Fitzroy Island are very uncommon but there have been two other attacks in Far North Queensland within the last ten days.
The attack came just days after 15-year-old surfer Mani Hart-Deville was killed by a shark on the Mid North Coast of NSW on Saturday.
Spearfisher Matthew Tratt was killed by a shark off Fraser Island on July 4.