A SPEARFISHER has recalled the terrifying moment he was attacked by a bull shark describing how a ‘wall of teeth sank into his arm like butter.’
Robbie Peck was left fighting for his life after the scary encounter off the Pilbara coast in Western Australia, left him with his arm hanging off.
The dad-of-three had been enjoying his final day out on his boat before he sold it, with his brother-in-law Clive, his friend Ben, and his four-year-old son.
Robbie, an experienced spearfisher swam down hoping to secure the last of the day when the predator struck.
Recalling the traumatic ordeal he told 7News: “I remember just turning around looking over my left should and all I see is just a giant mouth wide open, a wall of teeth coming at me full charge.”
While he does not remember his exact acts in the following moments he thinks he tried to fight off the shark using his arm when his left hand “ended up down the shark’s throat.”
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“I do recall the teeth just sinking into my arm and it was like a hot knife through butter,” he said.
“You know when a dog is playing with a toy how they shake their head? That’s what the shark was doing.”
Instincts kicked in as he was 42ft underwater and knew he had to act fast.
He added: “All I could do was just yell at it … that actually gave the shark a bit of a fright … and I believe forced him to let go.”
At that moment Robbie thought “I’ve got a lot to live for” and made his way back to the surface.
He said: “I put my right hand on my arm. I’ll never forget that feeling of my hand just sinking into my flesh … I knew I was in a very serious situation.”
Luckily his two friends managed to quickly get him out of the water and used a weight belt as a tourniquet and a spear gun as a splint to keep his arm intact until they got to the shore.
Robbie said his main thought at the time was his son.
He said: “I kept thinking I don’t wanna die here in front of my four-year-old son, I can’t put him through that. I was determined not to and I needed to survive for my family.”
Emergency services met the group at Richardson’s Boat Ramp near Port Hedland.
Robbie was then transferred to Royal Perth Hospital, where he spent nearly two weeks undergoing several surgeries.
Robbie’s wife Emily recalled the terrifying moment she was notified about her husband’s near-death incident.
She told 7News: “Just that sinking feeling in your gut and I swear all of the blood just drained from my face.
“It’s not a phone call you ever want to get. You expect the worse straight away when you hear shark attack.
“It was his last trip on the boat, last fish of the day and it happened.”
DNA testing later confirmed Robbie’s injuries were caused by a 10ft bull shark.
Robbie, who has had many encounters with sharks in the past admits he will remember this one.
Even though he is still in pain he considers himself lucky he didn’t lose his arm in the attack.
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He said: “It was pretty life-changing … I’d already kissed my arm goodbye, to be honest.
“It was even touch and go there about surviving so anything over and above that is a bonus and it’ll probably be that way for the rest of my life.”
