Swimmers and divers in Fish Hoek have been warned by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) to be wary of a six-metre Great White shark after two divers had a "gut-wrenching and frightening" encounter with the ocean giant.
Ulrich Drescher, 29, and Dillon Gouws, 28, dive regularly around the wreck of the Clan Stuart off Glen Beach near Simon's Town, but on Monday their recreational excursion nearly cost them their lives.
Drescher said on Tuesday: "We were diving just off the wreck, about 80m offshore, when we noticed a huge Great White shark. In my estimation it was at least six-metres long, if not longer."
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"We knew immediately we had to get out of the water and luckily the wreck was close, so we climbed on to the boiler which sticks out of the water. It was a gut wrenching and frightening experience. The shark came really close."
'The shark came really close' He added that no other swimmers were in the water at the time of the incident, around 5pm, but people on the beach alerted the NSRI.
The NSRI's Darren Zimmerman received the call at the Fish Hoek base and was on the scene aboard the Spirit of Freemasonry within 25 minutes.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said: "According to the men, the shark had circled above them and then headed to where they had dived."
While the shark has not been spotted again in the area, Zimmerman warned divers and bathers to be on the lookout for it.
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This article was originally published on page 4 of Pretoria News on March 24, 2004
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