September 29th, 2011
08:35 PM ET

Shark severely injures man near Cape Town

A British man was severely injured in an attack by a great white shark while swimming this week near Cape Town, South Africa.

Michael Cohen, 43, lost his right leg and suffered injuries to his left foot in Wednesday's incident near Fish Hoek Beach. He was in critical condition and under heavy sedation in an intensive care unit on Thursday.

According to city officials, the beach was closed when Cohen decided to go for a swim. Warning flags had been raised to alert beach goers that it was not safe to enter the water due to shark sightings.  Officials said it was not clear why Cohen ignored the warnings.

One eyewitness told city officials he watched the shark lunge toward Cohen and "shake him." He said the shark then let him go and swam away.

Two people told officials they rushed to the water to assist Cohen to shore.

Twelve shark attacks have been reported in Cape Town since 1998, according to city officials. In half of these cases, the city said, beach goers were warned that sharks had been spotted in the water.

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Filed under: South Africa • World
soundoff (394 Responses)
  1. NothingBut

    If you put enough bait in the water at the right place you will catch fish. Just ask the men of the Indianapolis that sank in WW2.

    October 1, 2011 at 10:20 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Carlos

    After reading most of the comments I see that the world is filled with a lot of insensitive and mean spirited people. Whatever happened to compassion? Anyone heard of "Love your neighbor?'

    This could have been you, even without the warning signs.

    Not funny to ridicule those who have suffered a misfortune, even it appears that they were to blame.

    c

    October 2, 2011 at 7:54 pm | Report abuse |
    • Shmulik

      Yes, but just the same he should have not tempted fate to such an extreme.

      I am sorry that this has happened to him and wish him a fast recovery.

      October 2, 2011 at 7:56 pm | Report abuse |
  3. sympathy

    I know that the may ignored the warning signs but how many of you have ever done something you shouldn't have? I know that it isn't exact the same but the man didn't ask for the shark to bite him. We all make stupid mistakes but no one deserves to loose their leg. This mans life is never going to be the same because of one bad choice and I know some of you can relate to that.

    October 3, 2011 at 11:47 am | Report abuse |
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