When the Australian Diver Greg Pickering’s leg was bitten by a shark along the coast of Western Australian capital Perth, he made the statement from the hospital bed that it was a one-off incident and had happened once in 34 years. He was 46 then and had been diving in the Western Australian waters since he was 12.

Twice Bitten but Not Shy

Now nine years after he had survived the first shark attack, Greg Pickering had a second shark bite attack on October 8, 2013, when diving in an area called Poison Creek near the Western Australian City of Esperance. He was immediately rushed to the Royal Perth Hospital, where he underwent a surgery. After the surgery, he is now reported to be in a stable condition and out of danger. As a result of this second shark bite, his head and face had been injured seriously. A spokesperson from the Royal Perth Hospital informed that Greg was brought to the Royal Hospital on the night of October 8 for surgery. He was flown from a local hospital in Esperance to the Royal Perth Hospital.

Now everyone is eagerly waiting for a statement from Greg after he gets back on his feet from the hospital bed. Nine years back, he had mentioned that the incident of shark bite is a very rare phenomenon and the probability of being bitten by a shark is very low. As he has met with another shark attack within nine years, he might not be very optimistic of venturing in to the Western Australian coast. But one can never rule out Greg venturing back to diving in the immediate future.

Search for the Shark

The Department of fisheries has released a statement stating that they have already sent a team to search for the presence of sharks along the Western Australian coast and catch and then kill it. The department also added that sharks are a common sight in Australian waters. They offered statistics that on an average only one person died every year in the past 50 years, among hundreds of divers who are bitten by a shark every year.

Part of the Job

Pickering was working for Southern Wild Abalone and had gone for a diving stint as part of his professional commitment. One of Abalone’s managers has told the Australian State television ABC that Greg had suffered substantial injuries. He was actually rescued and given first aid by another diver’s boat that was in the vicinity. The Australian Underwater Federation Western Australian representative Graham Carlisle told local media, Perth Now, that a spear fisherman would usually have a number of close calls with sharks and Greg would have gone through a number of close calls as well. He also mentioned that the more a diver continues to be in water more are the chances of a shark attack.

One has to wait and watch whether Greg will continue to engage in diving expeditions. But going by his past acts, there is every chance that he will get back to the western Australian waters as soon as he recovers from the surgery.