Gerhard van Zyl, 25, Killed on August 29th, 2009
While surfing with a friend 25 year old Gerhard van Zyl was attacked by a shark. His friend, Leonard Fourie, witnessed the attack and described the shark as being about 4 meters in length. Although the shark type was not identified it was likely a great white due to the size and because great whites are common in South Africa.
The attack happened at roughly 3:30 PM on Saturday August 29th, 2009. The shark nearly bit off van Zyl’s leg. His friend and another surfer helped him to shore and attempted to slow the bleeding with a tourniquet but their efforts were not enough. Van Zyl later died at George Hospital from massive blood loss.
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