ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-07 · by Brianna Melville and Chris Lewis
Mel Ismail, a firefighter from Western Australia, survived a shark attack while surfing off Glenfield Beach near Geraldton on September 14. During the attack, Ismail looked into the shark’s eye and tried to push it away before the shark severed his leg below the knee. Fellow surfer Shannan Dunn rescued him from the water, and locals helped stabilize Ismail until emergency services arrived. Despite the traumatic experience, Ismail plans to return to surfing.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Shark attack survivor Mel Ismail has spoken for the first time since a shark severed his leg while he was surfing off WA's Midwest coast.
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he → speak → coast
A career firefighter, Mr Ismail was surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton when he was attacked on September 14.
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he → surf → September
He says he looked the animal directly in the eye during the attack and plans to return to the water.
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he → say → water
A West Australian firefighter who escaped a shark after it severed his leg has recalled the moment he looked the apex predator in the eye.
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he → escape → eye
Mel Ismail had been surfing at Glenfield Beach near Geraldton, about 400 kilometres north of Perth, on the morning of September 14 when the shark attacked.
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shark → surf → September
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Mr Ismail recalls sitting out the back of the surf break and spotting a pod of about 20 dolphins before being hit by something big.
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Ismail → speak → something
"I thought I got hit by a dolphin, initially," he said.
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he → think → dolphin
"And suddenly, bang — something grabbed me and dragged me down into the water.
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something → grab → water
And I knew it was a shark."
Hauled underwater by the predator, he eventually came face to face with it.
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he → know → it
"I got to a point where I saw its eye … a big black eye," Mr Ismail said.
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Ismail → get → eye
"But it's winking back at me — I was trying to get my fingers in its eye and just pushing its eye as I was being dragged.
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I → wink → eye
I personally reckon it gave me the wink, and then shut my leg off, and I knew it had taken my leg.
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it → reckon → leg
"
With his leg severed below the knee, Mr Ismail made it back to the surface.
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Ismail → sever → surface
Instinctively, he tried to pull his board by his leg rope, but nothing happened.
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nothing → try → rope
"It was just a numbness, a sensation like, 'Hey, something's missing,'" he said.
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he → miss → ?
"I saw my board floating around, a heap of blood.
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board → see → blood
I thought, 'He's coming back for more; I need to get out of here.'
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I → think → more
"
Alone and bleeding at the back of the break, Mr Ismail caught a wave that took him about 20 metres closer to shore.
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that → bleed → shore
Surrounded by blood and still a fair way from shore, Mr Ismail said he was out of breath and losing strength when he spotted someone coming down the dunes on the beach.
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someone → surround → beach
"So I just tried to remain calm and just to float in a bit," he said.
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he → try → ?
"I did say to myself, 'You've got to suck this up.
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You → say → this
You can do this.
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You → do → this
I want to see my family.'
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I → want → family
"
The man on the dunes was Shannan Dunn, who saw Mr Ismail's signal and immediately raced into the water.
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who → see → water
"He had eyes like saucers," Mr Ismail said.
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Ismail → have → saucers
"The first thing he said to me is, 'Where's the shark?'
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shark → say → me
"I said 'I don't know, I've got a bit going on here.'
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bit → say → ?
"Then he chucked me on his board.
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he → chuck → board
After the pair made it back to shore, Mr Dunn dragged Mr Ismail up the beach, where a couple, who asked to be identified as Chrissy and Rick, rushed to assist.
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who → make → Chrissy
Chrissy called Triple Zero (000) while Rick crafted a tourniquet using a leg rope.
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Rick → call → rope
A pair of shocked teenagers helped him into Mr Dunn's four-wheel drive.
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pair → help → drive
The vehicle became airborne at times as it sped down the beach to meet the ambulance.
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it → become → ambulance
"They said, 'It's going to be a rough ride, mate', so I just held onto one of the bars," Mr Ismail said.
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Ismail → say → bars
"I had a heap of people laughing, keeping me alive, keeping me positive in the back.
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heap → have → back
The sight of the ambulance, crewed by paramedics he had worked with for years, was an enormous relief.
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he → crew → years
"I gave a few knuckles to the people there, because I was feeling good," Mr Ismail said.
"
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Ismail → give → people
I started to feel like I [was] going to make it."
The fisheries department is continuing to investigate the incident, but the species of shark is yet to be identified.
Partner's rush to ED
Mr Ismail's partner Kylie Fleay was working her first solo shift on the switchboard at Geraldton Hospital when she heard there had been a shark attack at Glenfield.
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she → start → Glenfield
Her boss confirmed it was Mr Ismail.
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it → confirm → ?
"I basically ran down to the ED," she said.
"We were allowed to go in and see Mel.
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We → run → Mel
Ms Fleay was stunned when surgeons mentioned the loss of his leg.
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surgeons → stun → leg
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia