Jade Kahukore-Dixon, 24, was brutally killed after he dived into the water off remote islands near New Zealand on Tuesday – and was mauled to death by a great white shark
A rugby player has been savaged to death by a great white shark after jumping off a boat.
Jade Kahukore-Dixon, 24, was killed by the beast during the horrific attack near New Zealand on Tuesday. He dived into the water off remote islands when tragedy struck.
Emergency services raced to the scene and found him in “critical condition”. They rushed him to hospital, where he later died.
A police spokesman said: “Emergency services were called around midday, following reports the man – who had been diving off a boat – had been critically injured. He was rushed to Chatham Island Hospital, but has since died.”
His devastated father Jacky Dixon described him as an “amazing boy” in a tribute. He old Stuff: “I couldn’t believe it. I kept picturing him when he was little. I’m not going to have my son. He would do anything to protect his family. He was an amazing boy, a very much loved member of the family.”
Jacky explained that his son would normally hold his breath and hide behind rocks on the sea floor if he saw a shark. “Then he would try to sneak back to the boat before the sharks saw him,” he said. “He’d do that every time.”
The heartbroken dad said Jade spotted sharks quite regularly, but wasn’t bothered by them. “He thought he was one with the ocean … [He] wasn’t scared of nothing,” he told local media.
Jacky recalled a time when his son’s pal had to free him after his got his foot stuck after diving. “His mate jumped in, swam down there and Jade’s foot was stuck under a rock,” his father said. “He couldn’t get out and his mate freed his foot and got him up and saved his life.”
Jade was a commercial diver and was named as the director and shareholder of newly-formed company Nomad Diving Limited, reports New Zealand Herald.
Chatham Islands mayor Monique Croon said he was “well-known” in the area and said the community is in “total shock”. Jade was named as one of the best young players in the Chatham Islands rugby squad in 2018.
She told the publication: “He’s a local boy. He’s well-known, well-liked and this will be pretty devastating for our commercial divers. It’s the biggest risk – the biggest fear.”
