A dramatic close encounter between Australian world championship surfer Matt Wilkinson and a shark off the east coast of the country was captured by a drone, showing the shark circle him, close in and then dart away.
Wilkinson was paddling in from a surf at Sharpes Beach, 733 km north of Sydney, when the shark swam towards him and then under his surfboard.
According to Reuters, the cameras of a drone used by lifeguards to watch for sharks captured those exciting moments. The 1.3-metre Great White Shark then circled and swam up to Wilkinson's feet, which were trailing in the water, and quickly turned away.
"I heard a splash and a noise and looked around and couldn't see anything. Then the drone came down and told me that there was a dangerous shark in the area," said Wilkinson in a statement.
The area around where Wilkinson was surfing has a reputation for sharks and has been the scene of a spate of attacks over the years.
A 46-year-old surfer was killed last month at a Gold Coast beach after he suffered severe leg injuries from a shark attack, with Australia recording a total of 19 shark attacks in 2020.
