There are many skyscrapers in cities and even large towns that rise high and soar over the metropolitan area, There is a lot of dust and dirt in the air associated with Vehicle Exhaust Fumes. ...
Fossil Fuel-Based Power Plants. ...
Exhaust from Industrial Plants and Factories. ...
Construction and Agricultural Activities. ...
Natural Causes. ...
Household Activities. ...
Accelerated Global Warming.
The windows from the outside will definitely require cleaning at regular intervals to make the building shine and look nice, In most cases men and women are required to physically clean the windows from the outside while using various mechanisms that are suspended from the roof and can be slowly lowered down. In the majority of cases windows on very tall buildings can not be opened so must be cleaned from the exterior. Most windows will be washed two or three times a year but the ground level are washed more frequently, Eventually robots will be able to clean the higher windows using sucker pads and vaccum powered technology which is already underway in Europe and the Middle East, This will be more affective and safer as if someone was to fall from a height the chances of survival are pretty remote unless your called Alcides Moreno.
Image Above - Alcides Moreno with his family.
This incredible story proves miracles do exist and Moreno is very lucky to still be alive, On December 7th 2007 Moreno had started to clean the windows of the Solow Tower building in Manhattan's Upper East side of New York City U.S. Moreno was accompanied by his brother Edgar on a cold and crisp winters morning as they stepped out onto the roof of the large high rise building. They both climbed onto a 16ft wide washing machine platform to begin working but something terrible was about to happen, Suddenly the cables that supported the platform slipped from their attachment point which caused the platform to descend down the side of the facade at speed. One cable snapped and then boom the other one broke off as well, Unfortunately there was nothing the two men could do and everything happened so fast, Sadly Edgar died but with an incredible stroke of luck Moreno survived.
Image Above - Alcides Moreno explains to Morgan Freeman how he fell and miraculously survived. In most situations only 50% of people would survive a 3 story fall, In Moreno's case he fell from 47 stories at a height of nearly 500 feet, Under the conditions Moreno stood no chance of surviving but God was definitely looking out for the New York window cleaner on that fateful day. Mr Moreno plunged 472ft surviving thanks to the platform he was working on getting lodged against a neighboring building. He added: “The paramedics, they found me right in the middle, the scaffold snapped in half and was lodged between the two buildings. “It was right in the middle, they picked me up from there and took me to the hospital. “I didn’t wake up from a coma until December 24, right there in the bed and my wife was there. “I was [eventually] able to walk and everything, the doctor told me ‘you are a miracle’”.
Alcides Moreno “rode” the scaffold like a surfboard, an updraft slowing his fall. When the scaffold struck a fence, Alcides was thrown onto a pile of cables in an alley (pictured).
During the incident, Mr Moreno broke 10 bones, his lungs collapsed and he needed 43 pints of blood and plasma alongside injuries to his brain, spine, chest and abdomen. Only half the people who fall from three storeys survive and from ten storeys almost no one does. However, Mr Moreno is not convinced what happened was a miracle, as his brother – Edgar – who was on the platform with him, did not survive. He continued: “I still don’t know [what I think happened]. “My brother is a big loss, we were really, really close. “That was a great man, I just wanted to bring him to work with me to help him out because he was younger than me and a good man. “I think God saved me, but I want to ask him ‘why me? What happened? Why?’ Maybe it was a second chance to keep going. “I am looking forward to finding out why.” An investigation into the accident found that the scaffolding had not been properly maintained and that new motorised cables, which attached the window washing platform to the building, had not been properly anchored to the roof.
KEEPING THE FAITH: Wife Rosario is in disbelief at the hospital days after the December 2007 window-washing horror.Brigitte Stelzer - Edgar Alcides brother toppled off the 1,250-pound scaffold, tumbling at a speed estimated at up to 124 mph. He hit the top of a brick wall and was killed. But Alcides clung to the aluminum platform, like a surfboard in the sky. It created wind resistance that — aided perhaps by a random air current rising between the buildings — slowed his descent, physicists surmised. It also blunted the force of crashing into a concrete alley.
Image Left - Edgar Moreno (left) and Alcides -Accident investigators also concluded that although Alcides Moreno had stepped on to the scaffold without wearing a safety harness, this did not prove that he had refused to use it. Since he had also not yet retrieved his window washing equipment from the roof they said that he might still have intended to go back and put on the harness before starting work. Mr Moreno received a substantial compensation payout and he and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, US. He says the warm weather there is good for his bones. An investigation found that the scaffolding hadn't been maintained properly and new motorised cables, which attached Alcides' platform to the building, had not been anchored to the roof correctly. How he survived is still unclear, with many believing if he clung to the scaffolding as he went down it may have taken most of the impact. Ten years on, Alcides is alive and well... and missing window cleaning! "I have all the scars on my body and because of the back injuries, I can't run, only walk" he added. "I loved to see the windows really clean. I liked the water and the soap, how you press the squeegee." He's probably the luckiest man in the world, and with a new son, he's got one hell of a story to tell him.
Image Above - Mr Moreno was rushed to hospital (Image: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC)
Alcides Moreno (centre) met the New York Fire Department members who rescued him in 2007.
Firefighters recall how they began to move him in small increments "like a fragile egg", knowing that one wrong move could have killed him.
The men's safety harnesses and lifelines, together with some soap and a bucket of hot water - the steam still rising from it - were discovered on the roof next to the scaffold rig. Alcides Moreno received a substantial compensation payout and he and his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Moreno says he would clean windows again if he could - he doesn't have a problem with heights. But he doesn't work for health reasons. He estimates that he is 80% of the person he used to be.
Other people have fallen from great heights and survived, Nicholas Alkemade was an RAF pilot who jumped out of his plane at 18,000ft without a parachute in 1994. His fall, if you choose to believe it, was broken by pine trees and soft snow on the ground. Juliane Koepcke was the only survivor of a 1971 air crash when she fell around 3km while still strapped to her seat. She crashed through the Peruvian rainforest before finally resting on the forest floor. Finally, take Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant. She fell over 10,000m without a parachute - again a sole survivor, who only achieved her feat thanks to a catering trolley being pinned against her to keep her in the plane.
These people are lucky, and it definitely was not there time to die under the extreme odds of surviving.
Alcides Moreno, his wife, Rosario, and one of their sons - An investigation into the accident found that the scaffolding hadn't been properly maintained and that new motorised cables, which attached the window washing platform to the building, had not been properly anchored to the roof
Image Above - Mr Baldock - I don't understand the mindset of some people who are prepared to risk there lives to get to a new country and destination even though they are at risk of severe injury and death. Mr Baldock was sunbathing outside in his garden in Clapham, South London on 30th June 2019 around 3.30pm when Kenya Airways flight KQ100 was flying over his garden, The Boeing 787 passed over Offerton Road at precisely 3.36pm on the Sunday at an elevation of 3,575ft and traveling at a speed of approximately 200mph. The aircraft had left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 9.19am local time and arrived at it's intended destination (Heathrow Airport) at 3.36pm oblivious to the fact that the pilots had been harboring an illegal stowaway who had concealed himself within the landing gear compartment of the aircraft.
The falling man just missed Mr Baldock disintegrating two heavy and thick concrete slates before his frozen body comes to a rest. As the plane began the landing procedure and lowered it's wheels the stowaway fell from the aircraft and plummeted down towards Mr Baldock's garden as he sunbathed. A plane spotter, who was following the nine-hour flight on an app from Clapham Common, had seen the body fall and arrived at the scene at around the same time as police. The tragic incident could have been much worse as the body could have fallen on packed Clapham Common, just 300 yards away, if it had fallen just two seconds later, one local said. Witnesses said Mr Baldock was in shock after the stowaway nearly landed on top of him. The stowaway was frozen solid like a block of ice and was already dead before he hit the ground, The incredible impact created a loud thud and the body disintegrated into small pieces of frozen flesh and bone. There was blood all over the walls of Mr Baldock's garden and the victims head was not in a good way."
Gilbert Kibe, director general of Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority, said it is 'unlikely' that someone without an airport pass could have gotten on board the plane
The brother of Mr Baldock said he was “very badly shaken.” He added: “It was a narrow miss. The garden isn’t very big. “There was more than a lot of blood. It wasn’t pretty and caused a significant amount of damage.” The force of the impact was so severe that police were initially unable to tell whether the body was male or female. One female resident said: "There was an almighty bang. My husband went out into the street where my neighbour was standing on the phone to the police. "He was really shaken up. He'd been in the garden when it happened and the body must have landed so close to where he was. "My husband came back in and I asked him what was going on and he said 'haven't you seen the man? The man who fell from the sky?'"I wondered what he was talking about and went up to see for myself and there in the middle of the lawn was a body of a man." "Police were called at 15:39hrs on Sunday, 30th June to a residential address in Offerton Road, Clapham after a body was discovered in a garden.
It is not known for certain whether the stowaway was dead at the time he fell but he would have had to survive almost nine hours starved of oxygen at temperatures of around -60C. Police are trying to identify him. They found a bag, food and water in the landing gear bay. A source said: “There have been rare cases where stowaways have survived but in the main they lose consciousness because of a lack of oxygen and hypothermia and then they fall when the wheels go down.” This man was clearly foolish and desperate to get into the UK he was prepared to risk his life and that of others to reach his destination. Mr Baldock has now left South London and is staying with friends as he tries to get over his traumatic ordeal. He rented the £2.3 million pound property but can not stay there anymore as the ordeal was so harrowing and it nearly cost him his life. Mr Baldock, an Oxford graduate who is in his 20s works for the tech firm Plexi. Friends were inside the house and it was shear luck no one else was in the garden at the time the falling man smashed down into the concrete slabs.
Police discovered the man, whose identity is unknown, in Offerton Road, Clapham - THE unknown stowaway is not the first desperate immigrant to have fallen from a plane while trying to sneak into Britain hiding inside the landing gear bay. Mozambican Carlito Vale hit an office roof in Richmond, South West London, in June 2015 after plunging from a British Airways jet. A second man miraculously survived the same 11-hour flight from South Africa in the undercarriage of the plane. A 20-year-old Romanian man also survived in the undercarriage of a private jet from Vienna to Heathrow in 2010. It had flown at comparatively low altitude with enough oxygen for him to breathe. But Turkish stowaway Kikmet Komur, 32, froze to death in the landing gear compartment of a BA jet in July 2013. He hoped to get from Istanbul to the UK to see his girlfriend. There are no recorded incidents of anyone hit by a falling body from a plane in the UK. Neighbours said: "The police had four cars. They were here for about five hours to start the clean-up operation." The corpse was removed at 8.30pm and a clean up team returned on Monday to continue the job. The dead man had travelled 4,250 miles before falling out and plummeting to the ground. The man fell just yards from Clapham Manor Primary School and it was sheer luck there was no casualties.
The risk of death is extremely high if you choose to hide within the landing gear compartment which has no pressurization and virtually no oxygen. "Kenya Airways is working closely with the relevant authorities in Nairobi and London as they fully investigate this case." The Kenya Airports Authority said it is investigating how the man got onto the plane. It tweeted: "We wish to reiterate that safety and security is a priority at our airports and this incident is being treated with the seriousness it deserves." A statement from Scotland Yard said: "A post-mortem examination will be carried out in due course. "Police are working to establish the man's identity. "A crime scene was put in place but has since been closed. "The death is not being treated as suspicious. "Enquiries are underway to establish the full circumstances. "At this point, police believe the man was a stowaway and had fallen from the landing gear of an inbound Kenya Airways flight to Heathrow Airport." The plane was cleared to take off on Monday after being inspected at Heathrow.
Between 1947 and June 2015, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had recorded 113 such attempts on 101 flights either departing from or landing in the United States. Of these 113 people, 86 (76%) died. In other instances, stowaways traveled either in a Cargo Hold or in a spare parts compartment, both of which are pressurized, Those incidents are excluded. Wheel well stowaways face considerable danger during takeoff, cruise, and landing, Immediately after takeoff, the landing gear retracts into the wheel wells, potentially crushing the stowaway. During flight at altitudes above approximately 2,500 m (8,000 ft), hypothermia becomes a risk and reduced atmospheric pressure and partial pressure of oxygen may impair physiological processes. At all cruising altitudes of jet aircraft, the partial pressure of oxygen in a wheel well is below that required to support brain consciousness. At altitudes above 6,000 m (20,000 ft), stowaways may also develop decompression sickness and nitrogen gas embolism. Temperatures also decrease with altitude, and may drop as low as −63 °C (−81 °F). As the plane descends to lower altitudes, a gradual rewarming and reoxygenation occur; however, if the stowaway does not regain consciousness and mobility by the time the landing gear is lowered during final approach, or has already died, the body may fall from the aircraft. According to the FAA, it is likely that the number of stowaways is higher than records show due to bodies having fallen into the ocean. In at least one instance, on July 31, 2013, a cat survived a flight from Athens to Zurich in the front undercarriage of an Airbus A321.
Image Above - Oscar Fox has a toy plane to play with. Photo: Swiss
A flight from Athens to Zurich was delayed for two hours on Wednesday after a cat stowed away in the undercarriage. The animal survived freezing temperatures and a shortage of oxygen in the plane’s undercarriage to emerge the worse for wear from the aircraft in Kloten. The black and white moggie is now being cared for by a vet. The Blick newspaper reported that the takeoff of flight LX 1843 from Athens had been delayed as staff searched for the cat seen prowling around the plane before its departure. The aircraft landed in Kloten at 10.21am instead of at 8.20am as scheduled. “A cat was prowling around the Airbus A321 in Athens. Suddenly it vanished,” said Swiss airline spokeswoman Myriam Ziesack. “Ground staff thought it had got into the undercarriage, but after two hours of searching they still hadn’t found it,” said Ziesack. She said that the captain and technicians had then decided to take off as otherwise the delay to that flight and subsequent flights would have been too great. The flight was uneventful and it was only after the plane had landed that the animal was discovered in the front undercarriage. “It is amazing as the temperature can drop to minus 50 degrees there and there’s very little oxygen,” Ziesack said. Blick said an animal rescue service had taken charge of the cat, which did not have to be taken into quarantine. “It’s now being nursed back to health,” it quoted Zurich health service spokeswoman Franziska Egli as saying. Blick said airline staff had taken the cat to their hearts, christening it Oscar Fox after the last two letters of the airbus’s identifier – HB-IOF.
Stowaway cat to remain in the SWISS family
Oscar Fox, the young cat who flew from Athens to Zurich in the wheel well of a SWISS Airbus A321 in August, now has a new owner: the SWISS technician Albert who rescued the feline from his hiding place on the ground at Zurich Airport. With Catherine Vassiliou
In 2012, Jose Matada fell to his death from a British Airways flight inbound from Angola. Mr Matada, originally from Mozambique, was found on the pavement in East Sheen on September 9. An inquest into his death heard he is believed to have survived freezing temperatures of up to minus 60C for most of the 12-hour flight. In 2015, the body of a man landed on a shop in Richmond having clung on in the undercarriage of a plane from Johannesburg in South Africa to Heathrow.
This is the moment a giraffe had a lucky escape – as he narrowly missed being struck by a bolt of LIGHTNING.
A group of 10 giraffes were trotting across the African plane in the middle of an intense thunderstorm when the electric bolt shot out of the sky – heading directly for one unlucky giraffe. The incredible moment was caught on camera by Russian photographer Julia Sundukova, during the storm at Etosha Park in Namibia. The dramatic backdrop of the dark, cloudy sky looming over the giraffes gave Julia an ominous feeling – and she was left gobsmacked when she saw a bright bolt of lightning shoot out of the sky, appearing to strike one of the pack. Julia, 31, said: “The giraffe’s weren’t scared of the thunderstorm – they stood together in unity, whilst lightning struck behind them. “This story is unforgettable for me – not just because of the wonderful animals, but because of the lightning which I caught purely by accident. “It really looked like it was hitting the giraffe – at first I thought he was a goner! “I’m glad he’s OK though.”
A little duckling has had a lucky escape after getting himself stuck down an underground pipe in Tamworth. The RSPCA were alerted to the incident after the duck was heard quacking by a passerby. RSPCA Animal Collection Officer Cat Strawford who was tasked with rescuing the duckling said: He was so far within the pipes that I could hear him but sadly I was unable to see or reach him. We contacted the drain company and a workman opened a manhole further up the road for me. There was still no way we were able to reach the duckling so I decided to bring up some duck noises from YouTube on my phone and played them down the pipes. – CAT STRAWFORD, RSPCA ANIMAL COLLECTION OFFICER. Cat believes that the sound must have echoed all the way down the pipes as the next thing she saw was the duckling running out. The duckling is now being cared for at the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, in Cheshire. Last updated Sat 22 Jul 2017
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A MOTHER badger and her young cub had a lucky escape when they were found to have fallen down a 10ft-deep drainage shaft. The pair were fortunate to be discovered by a member of the public as it was late at night, and they were found on a remote field in Mobberley, when the man’s dog sniffed out the stricken pair. The man attempted to try and rescue the sow and cub, but realised he was unable to, so called for the help of the Wirral and West Cheshire Badger Group, who also alerted he farmer. A MOTHER badger and her young cub had a lucky escape when they were found to have fallen down a 10ft-deep drainage shaft. The pair were fortunate to be discovered by a member of the public as it was late at night, and they were found on a remote field in Mobberley, when the man’s dog sniffed out the stricken pair. The man attempted to try and rescue the sow and cub, but realised he was unable to, so called for the help of the Wirral and West Cheshire Badger Group, who also alerted the farmer.
They were unable to safely reach the exhausted animals, so alerted the RSPCA, and Animal Collection Officer Emma Dwan was sent to the scene just before midnight on Thursday, May 23. Emma said: “It was difficult because the badgers were so deep in the drainage shaft. They must have been walking along at night and simply fallen in. “I had a specialist pole which I used to first scoop up the cub and then eventually managed to get the sow, but this was difficult as she was so exhausted she wasn’t moving much. “We have no idea how long they were down there, but it was lucky they were found when they were, and it was such a remote location it really was remarkable they were discovered. “By 2am on the Friday both badgers were freed, and they were taken to the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre near Nantwich, where they spent a few days enjoying some rest and rehabilitation. “They were given fluids and food until they were strong enough to be returned to the wild.” The drainage tunnel has been filled in by the landowner. The badgers have now been rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
About Badgers
Badgers are highly adapted for digging with muscular limbs and strong non-retractable claws. They are mostly nocturnal but cubs may be seen foraging during daylight during summer if food is scarce.
Badgers mainly eat earthworms but, depending on food availability, they will also take other invertebrates, rodents, rabbits, cereals, fruit and bulbs.
They are highly territorial - fights between badgers for territory are fierce and can result in serious injury
Kayaking is a diverse and exciting sport that provides adrenaline and even euphoria, There are many diverse and mentally and physically draining courses that one can attempt if they are on the extreme scale but also some pleasant and incredibly gentle lengths of rivers and sea channels. Kayaking is not without it's dangers and some of the best sportsmen and women have died while traversing rough and harsh environments, Sometimes the unpredictability of nature will take the kayaking expert off guard and this is what happened to two kayakers in Alaska. A pair of kayakers say they are lucky to be alive after a close encounter with a collapsing glacier in Alaska. Footage of the terrifying experience shows the moment the glacial bridge plunged into the water below, triggering an enormous splash of water and ice debris that almost engulfed the two men. The lucky pair had a very close encounter with a collapsing glacier but footage of the terrifying incident was captured on video. We're lucky to be alive right now!" one of the pair shouted as they paddled away.
Image Above - Andrew Hooper
The kayakers, Josh Bastyr and Andrew Hooper, were in the middle of a trip near Spencer Glacier, 52 miles (84km) southeast of Anchorage, when the incident happened. Speaking after their escape, Mr Hooper said several pieces of ice from the initial splash hit him in the hand and the ribs, but noted the enormous wave that came after posed an even greater threat. "After the burst hit, we were able to see the iceberg again. It went under [the water] from falling, and it created a great 8-10-12 foot wave (up to 3.6 metres) that was headed straight for us," he said. "So we both turned our boats around and paddled as quick as we could, trying to ride the wave out. Luckily everything turned out OK."
Global warming is contributing to large amounts of the ice shelf collapsing evaporating and breaking off and the problem is unlikely to get any better. Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well. One of the most common uses of kayaks for hobbyists is whitewater kayaking. Whitewater kayaking is when a kayaker traverses down a series of rapids. The difficulty of these rapid ranges from Class I to Class VI. The difficulty of rapids often changes with water level and debris in the river. Debris that inhibits a kayakers path are often called "strainers" as they "strain" out the kayakers like a colander. There are often training camps as well as man-made structures to help train kayakers.
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Kayak diving is a type of recreational diving where the divers paddle to a diving site in a kayak carrying all their gear to the place they want to dive. The range can be up to several kilometres along the coastline from the launching point to a place where access would be difficult from the shore, although the sea is sheltered. It is a considerably cheaper alternative to using a powered boat, as well as combining the experience of sea kayaking at the same time. Kayak diving gives the diver independence from dive boat operators, while allowing dives at sites which are too far to comfortably swim, but are sufficiently sheltered.
Kayak fishing is fishing from a kayak. The kayak has long been a means of transportation and a stealth means of approaching easily spooked fish, such as cobia and flounder. Kayak fishing has gained popularity in recent times due to its broad appeal as an environmentally friendly and healthy method of transportation, as well as its relatively low cost of entry compared to motorized boats. In addition, kayaks allow greater access by their ability to operate in shallow water, getting in and out along the shoreline, and having the ability to get away from the crowds to find a more solitary environment where boats may not have the ability to do so.
Kayaks were created thousands of years ago by the Inuit, formerly known as Eskimos, of the northern Arctic regions, They used driftwood and sometimes the skeleton of whale, to construct the frame of the kayak, and animal skin, particularly seal skin was used to create the body. The main purpose for creating the kayak, which literally translates to "hunter's boat" was for hunting and fishing. The kayak's stealth capabilities allowed for the hunter to sneak up behind animals on the shoreline and successfully catch their prey. In the 1740s, Russian explorers led by Vitus Bering came in contact with the Aleutians, who had taken the basic kayak concept and developed multiple designs specifically for hunting, transportation, and environmental conditions. They soon recognized the Aleutians were very skillful at hunting sea otters by kayak. Because otters were a popular commodity in Europe and Asia, they would exploit and even kidnap Aleutians and keep them aboard their ships to work and hunt.
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Inuit kayak from 1929. By the mid-1800s the kayak became increasingly popular and the Europeans became interested. German and French men began kayaking for sport. In 1931, Adolf Anderle was the first person to kayak down the Salzachofen Gorge, which is believed to be the birthplace of modern-day white-water kayaking. Kayak races were introduced in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936. In the 1950s, fiberglass kayaks were developed and commonly used, until 1980s when polyethylene plastic kayaks were introduced. Kayaking progressed as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s, when it became a mainstream popular sport. Now, more than 10 white water kayaking events are featured in the Olympics. While kayaking represents a key international watersport, few academic studies have (to date) been conducted on the role kayaking plays in the lives and activities of the public.
Eskimos launching kayaks through the surf of the Bering Sea, Alaska.
Image Above - The original 'monolith'rectangular berg was spotted near the Larsen C ice shelf, and NASA experts believe the sharp edges are evidence it may have recently broken off the shelf
New sea ice forms in a rift created when the B-46 iceberg broke off from Pine Island Glacier.
A close-up view of the rift separating Pine Island Glacier and iceberg B-46, as seen on an Operation IceBridge flight on November 7, 2018
Bondi Beach in Australia is famous for its glistening ocean, pristine sands, reliable surf and seaside spirit. It's laid back coastal lifestyle, cafe culture, boutique shops and thriving, eclectic community is equally enticing.Come and enjoy the quintessential Australian culture and surf lifestyle of this vibrant seaside community! - It is a very popular surfing spot for the expert and beginner but has been known in the past to be dangerous because of the chance a swimmer or surfer could be attacked by sharks. Surfer, Glenn Orgias, 33, of Dover Heights, suffered deep cuts to his arm when he was attacked by a shark while surfing the break off South Bondi beach. This was the second attack within the space of seven days by a shark and though not fatal the injuries were serious. Orgias suffered an almost decapitated left hand that was hanging on by a small slither of skin after the powerful elasmobranch bite. The surfer was in serious condition in intensive care at St Vincent's Hospital and his family rushed to his bedside after hearing the dreadful news. This attack took place just 36 hours after a navy clearance diver was mauled off Woolloomooloo, in Sydney Harbour.
James McIntosh, 29, who works for the surfing magazine Stab, was paddling back out to the break when he realized there had been a shark attack and headed to shore. He tied a leg rope around the victim's arm as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. "I just kept pulling that leg rope as hard as I could. As soon as we put the tourniquet on there wasn't any bleeding." Mr McIntosh said Mr Orgias "didn't think he was going to make it". "He was in a fair bit of a mess. He said: 'Tell Lisa, that I love her.' Then he said, 'She's pregnant'. He thought his number was up, I guess." Mr McIntosh's friend, Will Onus, 25, was paddling on his board next to the victim, who was sitting on his board, waiting to catch a wave, when the shark dragged him through the water. "Will felt a knock and then saw the shark just throw [the victim] a big distance," Mr McIntosh said. Mr Orgias got back on his board and caught a wave to shore. A French tourist, Mikael Thomas, 21, said of the man's injuries: "We could see all of his bones cut like with a big knife. It was very clear. We could see all into his hand."
Mickey Malouf, a man grommet, finding the wave of the day at Bondi. Bondi Beach closed between 6am and 7.45 as lifeguards searched the water as was a usual procedure after a shark attack has been announced. It was initially understood that there had not been a recorded shark attack at Bondi since 1929, when Colin Stewart, 14, was killed and four weeks later John Gibson, 39, the son of a Melbourne department store owner, lost his life. But Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said there had been attacks there in 1951 and 1936. The first decent waves in weeks last night drew many surfers to Bondi. After the attack lifeguards sounded the shark alarm and ordered everyone from the water. Nobody was able to identify the size or type of shark involved, although experts speculate it would have been one of the top three: a white pointer, a tiger or a bull shark. Rowan Smith, 28, was surfing about 80 metres away when the attack happened. He said that back on the beach Mr Orgias was "just shell-shocked and not saying much. Just bone was sticking out of the end of his arm". A hospital spokeswoman this morning said Mr Orgias was in a serious but stable condition and had undergone extensive surgery. She could not comment on the success of the surgery.
Another surfer, Kane Skennar, 35, said surfers and fishermen had noticed a big increase in shark sightings around Sydney this summer. "There's going to be more attacks," he said. Mr McIntosh said last night's attack was unlikely to deter him from surfing. "I've grown up in the surf ... I just think it's one of those rare things that happen," he told ABC radio this morning. "[But] I won't be going out at those times ... at 7.30 at night." Inspector Christine George, of Waverley police, said an off-duty nurse and doctor were on the beach and helped the man. * The last fatal attack in Sydney Harbour happened in 1963, when the actress Marcia Hathaway was killed at Sugarloaf Bay in Middle Harbour. There have been at least 267 recorded shark attacks in NSW in the past 200 years, about 28 per cent of which were fatal. There have been 719 documented attacks around Australia since white settlement, and 193 fatalities.
Popular online surfing newsletter Aquabumps reported that Bondi surfer Mick Marj was metres away from Mr Orgias when the attack occurred. "Glenn ... paddled past Mick at 7.30pm. Moments later there was a large splashing about in the water,'' it said. "Mick said you could see a large tail fin thrashing about as the shark attacked Glen's left arm. "Glenn screamed 'SHARK' and scrambled back onto his board attempting to get back to the beach. All the surfers came in at this time. "Mick scrambled to the beach and up to the skate bowls to find someone with a mobile phone where they called an ambulance.'' Mr Marj said: "Looking back you could see a large amount of blood in the water and other surfers helping the victim out of the water. These attacks are evidence that everyone needs to exercise care when in the ocean common sense is the best defence against shark attack [and] swim on a netted beach, swim between the flags, don't go into the water at night,' "People have been warned repeatedly not to swim at dawn or at dusk ... both these attacks have happened at these times, when the water was murky and the likelihood of attack greater.''
Another surfer also had a lucky escape while surfing at Bondi Beach, This time a large shark jumped from the water and landed directly onto the surfers board, The Sydney man, Dean Norburn told AFP: "We were just past the break and as I was paddling in a little bit, I slowed down and went to sit up on my board and... as I did that, the shark brushed by me and landed on my board." He was understandably spooked and paddled back to shore as fast as he could. Bondi Rescue Lifeguards reported that Norburn was not hurt and the lifeguards cleared the water. Authorities are looking at ways to keep swimmers and surfers safe in the water along the New South Wales coast from controversial ‘drum’ lines to aerial drone tracking of sharks.
