Bystanders’ Makeshift Tourniquet Likely Saved The Arm Of Crescent Head Shark Attack Victim

Watch: Episode 1 of the Surf100 Challenger Series presented by Pacifico

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Bystanders’ Makeshift Tourniquet Likely Saved The Arm Of Crescent Head Shark Attack Victim

“It was virtually the perfect storm in terms of on-the-ground expertise.”

elsewhere // Jul 7, 2021
Words by Jack Mutschler
Reading Time: < 1 minute

*click here to help fund Joe’s recovery

Yesterday we reported on a surfer being bitten by a shark in Crescent Head. The victim, identified as Joe Hoffman, received crucial first aid from bystanders on the beach. According to Washington News Today:

Bystanders, including doctors and nurses who happened to be on the beach at the time, assisted the man.

Inspector Martin Burke, a police officer from Australia’s Mid North Coast, told ABC News that medical personnel made a tourniquet out of a surfboard rope.

He hailed the onlookers for administering first aid and “possibly saving his arm.”

“For a bad scenario, it was virtually the perfect storm in terms of on-the-ground expertise,” Burke said.

Inspector Burke expressed optimism that the man’s arm would be salvaged.

Officers from the NSW Police Force are working with the Department of Primary Industries to examine the event. The beach was closed following the attack and drones were used to monitor the waters.

Click here for the full update.

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