Man survives ‘worst shark attack’ after wetsuit ‘prevents organs from leaking out

An Australian man has been dubbed the “great white whisperer” after he was swept to the bottom of the ocean in a horrific shark attack.

Rodney Fox miraculously survived one of the most serious and non-fatal great white shark attacks in history while spearfishing off the southern coast of Australia in December 1963.

The now 80-year-old man was just 23 when he was brutally attacked, suffering horrific injuries including a perforated diaphragm, a torn lung, a punctured shoulder blade and exposed abdomen, ribcage, spleen and upper abdomen.

His injuries were so severe that reportedly only his wetsuit prevented his organs from leaking out and he later needed 462 stitches to sew them back together.

To this day, he has part of one of the sea creature’s teeth lodged in his wrist after he tried to push the shark away.

Speaking to Stories of the South, Rodney recalled how close he came to death. He said: “I felt a huge shock and was thrown into the water. “I thought a submarine had hit me, then I realized I was in big trouble.”

“My first thought was ‘His eyes, I’m going to have to gouge his eyes out’ and he seemed to let go of me, so I tried to push him away and my hand disappeared into his mouth. “I hugged him tightly, but I knew I was going to drown, so I went to the surface,” he added.

The water around him had turned red as he was surrounded by a pool of his own blood, attracting the shark to attack him again.

Luckily, this time the shark managed to grab his fish bobber. But this threw him to the bottom of the water and was in danger of drowning before the line came loose from his jaw and he was allowed to fight his way to the surface.