- A timeline of shark attacks on WA beaches
- Esperance shark attack: Bunbury man Sean Pollard suffers serious injuries
- Esperance shark attack: Did Fisheries catch the right sharks?
- Shark attack victim recovering well in hospital
- Esperance residents rally around shark attack victim
- Bunbury rallies around shark attack victim Sean Pollard
DESPITE having part of both of his arms bitten off in a shark attack, Bunbury man Sean Pollard still managed to swim up to 100-metres before being pulled out of the water by two men.
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Mr Pollard was savagely attacked while surfing at Kelp Beds Beach, about 150m from the shore, at 11am on Thursday. He was in the water by himself at the time.
At a press conference in Esperance today, those who provided Mr Pollard with crucial first-response care shared their accounts of what had happened.
Esperance Primary School deputy principal Ross Tamlin was out surfing just a few hundred metres from where Bunbury man Sean Pollard was attacked and was about to leave when he heard a man screaming out but couldn't hear what was being said.
"I heard this almighty scream and I felt very uneasy about it," Mr Tamlin said.
He started telling people to get out of the water and rushed to where Mr Pollard was, about 400-metres away, and by that time the shark attack victim had managed to swim between 50-100m towards the shore.
"I saw a huge pool of blood.
"We saw him laying on his back in the water," he said.
Peter Rothnie and Dean Gaebler were also at the beach separately and rushed in to the water where Mr Pollard was laying on his back about 50m off shore, in waist deep water and pulled the Bunbury man out of the water. Mr Tamlin phoned emergency services.
Also at the scene was Mr Rothnie's wife Kylie Rothnie - an off-duty paramedic who was enjoying the beach with her family.
Her first aid skills were put into action and she said together, they all helped care for the shark attack victim, who had lost a hand and most of his arm in the attack.
They used towels and surfboard leg ropes to help stop the blood loss and kept him talking.
"He was so brave through the whole thing," Mrs Rothnie said.
From there, Mr Pollard was put on a surfboard and into his Nissan vehicle and driven towards Esperance Hospital.
"It was the quick thinking of everyone there that helped.
"We just did what had to be done.
"Anyone would've done the same thing in the same situation," she said.
Mr Gaebler said at no stage did Mr Pollard tell anyone what kind of sharks had attacked him.
"All he said was his name and where he was from," Mr Gaebler said.
Mr Gaebler, who is a train driver in Esperance, was at the beach with his children, wife and friends from Perth when the attack happened.
In regards to the sharks which have been killed, Mr Gaebler and Mr Tamlin felt a bit more easy knowing they were no longer in the water.
"I'm pretty glad they caught those two," Mr Gaebler said.
Constable Andre Michalski and his partner Senior Constable Tracy Lalor were the first offcials from emergency services to arrive at the scene. When they arrived, Mr Michalski said Mr Pollard was already being driven along the beach to the road.
The police officers helped escort the vehicle Mr Pollard was in until they met the St John Ambulance. He was then transferred into the ambulance for treatment and taken to the Esperance Hospital.
Paul Gaughan from the St John Ambulance said everyone who were involved with Mr Pollard following the attack, including members of the public, emergency services and medical staff, all helped his recovery.
"He was a very courageous and brave young to go through what he had been through," Mr Gaughan said.
During an earlier press conference, police said Mr Pollard was in a stable condition and awake and had a positive attitude about his future.
He was recovering at Perth Royal Hospital surrounded by family and his partner Claire Oakford, who was on the shore at the beach when the attack happened.
During a press conference this morning, Senior Sergeant Richard Moore told the media he had spoken to Mr Pollard's partner who said the victim was awake in a stable condition and was feeling positive.
LISTEN: Hear what Snr Sgt Moore had to say at the press conference below.
Mr Pollard's surf board was recovered with bite marks and would be taken to Perth for examinations.
Mr Moore said both Mr Pollard and Miss Oakford were very thankful for all the support they had received since the attack including the emergency response, help from the Shire of Esperance and Virgin Airlines which provided Mr Pollard's family with a flight to Perth.
Mr Moore said Miss Oakford was "still in a bit of shock" but was supported by Mr Pollard's family and her family, who were from Tasmania, were travelling to be by her side too.
Mr Moore said Esperance was a beautiful place and people shouldn't be put off visiting the area because of the attack.
Video: Watch as shark attack victim Sean Pollard gets wheeled on a stretcher from an ambulance to the waiting Royal Flying Doctor Service plane at Esperance Airport.
