South-Australian Surfer remains critical after shark attack

A 26-year-old surfer remains in a critical condition in Royal Adelaide Hospital after being attacked by a shark on Saturday morning.

Chris Blowes was surfing ‘Right Point’ on the south-western side of Fishery Bay, about 35km south of Port Lincoln, when he was attacked at 9:45am by what’s believed to have been a six-metre great white.

Chris was in the water with roughly 12 other surfers when the shark attacked. Reports suggest he was bitten more than once, before the shark took his leg from the mid thigh.

After helping him in, fellow surfers and friends made a tourniquet above the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

“I was just watching the shark go out to the ocean with his board still attached,” Glenn Lugg, who watched the attack from land, told Adelaide Now. “Obviously the shark still had his leg and he was still swimming around with it.”

Blowes was lifted up the cliff on top of a surfboard before being taken to the Port Lincoln hospital in the back of a car.

An SA Ambulance Service spokeswoman said Chris had to be resuscitated and the MedSTAR helicopter transferred him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The Blowes family commended Chris’ friends and the medical staff involved for giving him the best chance of survival:

“On behalf of the family of Christopher Blowes, we would like to thank everyone for all the support and well wishes we have received at this very traumatic time, we are very grateful.

“Currently our sole focus is on our unified, unconditional support and belief towards Christopher’s big fight he has ahead, and we ask that our privacy in being able to provide that is respected at this time.

“From the bottom of our hearts we wish to thank his inspirational mates who rescued him and got him to safety and all of the wonderful medical professionals both here in Adelaide and in Port Lincoln who have attended to Christopher.”