Snorkelling hero's tail tug deters ferocious shark

Elyse Frankcom was leading a swim with dolphins. Photo / Supplied

A 19-year-old woman was saved during a ferocious attack by a great white shark when another snorkeller pulled on its tail.

Rescuers said the man had undoubtedly saved the life of Elyse Frankcom, Perth's Sunday Times reported yesterday.

Ms Frankcom had been leading a swim-with-the-dolphins tour of 33 people, including three children, south of Perth when the 3m shark bit into her hip and left buttock. She was in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital after undergoing surgery.

The heroic snorkeller did not want to give his name to the newspaper. "All I want is the girl to be okay."

Ms Frankcom's sister Samantha said: "Elyse is in high spirits. She should be okay.

"She loves the water. This won't scare her away. She will definitely go back. It's been a passion for her since she was a child."

Ms Frankcom, who worked for Rockingham Wild Encounters, had recently commented on shark attacks on her Facebook page: "If I get attacked or die, at least I die happy and doin [sic] the thing I love."

Frank Pisani, senior skipper for Fremantle Sea Rescue, said the shark attack could have been fatal if not for the quick thinking of one of Ms Frankcom's tour group.

"As the shark bit her, it brushed aside a fairly large male who grabbed hold of the tail of the shark, which then made it let go," Mr Pisani said.

As she began to sink the man grabbed her and got her back on board, he said.

"There were very deep puncture wounds, quite wide."

Rockingham Wild Encounters operations director Aaron Heath said the actions of Ms Frankcom's rescuer were nothing short of amazing.

"They've been swimming in quite shallow water, about 7m of water.

"They had two dolphins right by Elyse's side and we believe this shark has come in from the bottom and grabbed hold of her."