A courageous dad who was brutally attacked by a great white shark on a Sydney beach while attempting to lead his fellow surfers to safety has been described as heroic to the end
Australia is one of the best countries in the world for surfing but the sport does not come without risk.
Mercury Psillakis was killed by a great white shark when surfing Sydney’s Northern Beaches on Saturday, September 6, with onlookers describing the horrifying scene.
The 57-year-old was bitten in half in the brutal attack, losing both of his legs before losing his life. His surfboard was also cut in half by the huge deadly mammal, which struck off Long Reef Beach.
Witness Mark Morgenthal heard the surfer’s last, panicked words, telling Sky News: “There was a guy screaming, ‘I don’t want to get bitten, I don’t want to get bitten, don’t bite me.'”
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Great white sharks typically grow to between four and five metres long. Mark said of the creature that launched its attack: “I saw the tail fin come up and start kicking and the distance between the dorsal fin and the tail fin looked to be about four metres, so it actually looked like a six-metre shark.”
The deadly incident happened just after 10am that morning. Witnesses did their best to drag Mercury to shore, as well as his torn off limbs, to no avail.
Professional surfer Toby Martin, who rushed to the beach when he heard the news, said his close friend had lost his life while courageously attempting to warn others about the shark. Mercury had urged them to group together for safety. He described how the creature’s attack was quick and brutal.
“He was at the back of the pack still trying to get everyone together when the shark just lined him up,” said Toby. “It came straight from behind and breached and dropped straight on him. It’s the worst-case scenario.
“They normally come from the side, but this one came straight from behind, breached and dropped on him. It was so quick.”
The professional surfer told ABC his friend was a “great person”. “A really deep loss for us on the eve of Father’s Day for an avid surfer, loving father, loving husband, great son and great person,” he said. “[He] was just doing what he wanted to do, in a place where he loved doing it. Heroic to the end… self-preservation wasn’t there, just the safety of the others was important for him.”
Australia is second only to the United States when it comes to shark attacks but fatal attacks are thankfully rare, numbering one a year on average. In 2022, Brit Simon Nellis, 35, was killed by a great white shark when swimming at Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The diving instructor was mauled just off Little Bay in a vicious and frenzied attack, while undertaking a bay swim. His death was the first fatal shark attack off Sydney’s coastline for 60 years.
