Swimmer is taken to hospital after being bitten by a shark in Perth
- Father-of-two Cameron Wrathall, in his 50s, was bitten by a suspected bull shark
- Mr Wrathall and a friend were on a morning swim when he was bitten by a shark
- Two kayakers assisted him by covering his wound and taking him back to shore
- The injured father was taken to hospital and rushed into an operating theatre
A father has been seriously injured after being bitten on the leg by a suspected bull shark while swimming in Perth‘s Swan River.
Father-of-two Cameron Wrathall, in his 50s, was swimming with a friend at Blackwall Reach in Bicton in Perth’s south when he was attacked at 8am on Thursday.
Two kayakers heard Mr Wrathall’s screams and saw blood in the water and paddled over to assist him at the popular swimming spot, according to The West Australian.
One of the kayakers reportedly took of his T-shirt and wrapped it around the wound before taking Mr Wrathall to shore.
Father-of-two Cameron Wrathall (pictured), in his 50s, was swimming with a friend in the Swan River at Blackwall Reach in Bicton in Perth’s south when he was attacked by a suspected bull shark at 8am on Thursday
The beach at Blackwall Reach, near where Mr Wrathall was attacked. He Mr Wrathall was taken to the shore of a beach across from Blackwall Reach and received CPR before being rushed to hospital for surgery
Mr Wrathall was taken to the shore of a beach across from Blackwall Reach and received CPR.
He was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital via St John Ambulance with injuries to his leg.
The severity of his injuries is not known yet but he was taken to hospital under ‘priority one’ conditions, which is the fastest ambulance transport possible.
Mr Wrathall was taken into an operating theatre at 9:30am but doctors do not believe his injuries are life-threatening.
He man is now in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
Locals said Mr Wrathall worked at the Fremantle Water Polo Club and swam in the river almost every day.
Western Australia‘s fisheries department believes a bull shark two to three metres in size was responsible for the attack.
Western Australia ‘s fisheries department believes a bull shark two to three metres in size was responsible for the attack (stock image)
A water police vessel is on the scene and people have been cleared from the water.
A 13-year-old boy died after he was bitten on the thigh by a bull shark while swimming in the Swan River near Mosman Park in 1923.
This is the only recorded fatal bull shark attack in Perth’s Swan River.
Bull sharks are notorious for their aggressive nature, and presence in warm, shallow brackish and freshwater systems including estuaries, canals and rivers.
It are also known as the Zambezi shark in Africa, and ‘Lake Nicaragua shark’ in Nicaragua in South America.
Perth’s Swan River. A 13-year-old boy died after he was bitten on the thigh by a bull shark while swimming in the Swan River near Mosman Park in 1923. This is the only recorded fatal bull shark attack in Perth’s Swan River
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