{"id":26854,"date":"2025-09-14T01:32:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T01:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854"},"modified":"2025-09-14T01:32:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T01:32:14","slug":"man-had-heroic-final-act-before-being-mauled-by-shark-as-witnesses-speak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854","title":{"rendered":"Man had heroic final act before being mauled by shark as witnesses speak out"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"article-header_header__gD613\">\n<div class=\"article-header_meta__N4zeN\">\n<h2 class=\"summary_summary__q_VAA\">A surfer who was brutally mauled did his best to protect his friends before his death<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article-header_metaWrapper__P4a1g\">\n<div class=\"article-header_shareLink__FtU9x\">\n<div class=\"share-link_container__q9th7\">\n<div class=\"share-link_desktopTabletShareArrowWrapper__Gchyi\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"share live post\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"content-template_body__RWRhb\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\"><strong>Friends have spoken out after Mercury Psillakis was fiercely mauled to death by a shark while surfing out in Australia.<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"nxycv69ff2a40dacda\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.nxycv69ff2a40dacda {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.nxycv69ff2a40dacda {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.nxycv69ff2a40dacda {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.nxycv69ff2a40dacda {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.nxycv69ff2a40dacda {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">A great white shark caused pandemonium over the weekend after coming close to the shores of\u00a0Sydney&#8217;s Northern Beaches just after 10 am on Saturday (Sept 6).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Mercury Psillakis, 57, was bitten in half in a brutal attack after the shark appeared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Psillakis\u2019 surfboard was cut in half by the\u00a0shark\u00a0in the attack, and the surfer lost both of his legs before being pronounced dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Witnesses at the beach did their best to grab the surfer and get him to shore, attempting to salvage parts of his body and get it to the sands of the Long Reef Beach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">A witness at the scene, Mark Morgenthal, said that the shark appeared to be huge and spoke to Sky News about the incident.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\">\n<div class=\"resizable-image_wrapper__LRQlr\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image_image__XvzgU resizable-image_lowRes__5OkaL resizable-image_fadeOut___ZcLy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 33vw, (max-width: 768px) 50vw, (max-width: 1024px) 50vw, 33vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=256&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 256w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=384&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 384w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt98c2874c95b480d0\/68be9bde19ea9e207180bd1b\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_10.00.47.png 3840w\" alt=\"Psillakis immediately lost both of his legs in the shark attack according to witnesses (ABC Net News)\" width=\"503\" height=\"279\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">Psillakis immediately lost both of his legs in the shark attack according to witnesses (ABC Net News)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">He said: \u201cThere was a guy screaming, &#8216;I don&#8217;t want to get bitten, I don&#8217;t want to get bitten, don&#8217;t bite me.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">\u201cThen 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 meters, so it actually looked like a six-meter shark.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">As well as this, Psillakis\u2019 close friend and former pro surfer, Toby Martin, spoke of the heroic final act his friend made before his death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">Martin came to the beach alongside Psillakis\u2019 wife Maria after the incident and\u00a0spoke to\u00a0the Daily Telegraph about how his friend attempted to warn others about the shark and group them together for safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">He also spoke out about just how vicious the attack was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">He said: \u201cHe was at the back of the pack still trying to get everyone together when the shark just lined him up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">\u201cIt came straight from behind and breached and dropped straight on him. It&#8217;s the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">\u201cThey normally come from the side, but this one came straight from behind, breached and dropped on him. It was so quick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">According to an ABC news report, Martin also reflected on the heartbreak of the loss of his friend and commended him for his determination to protect others.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image_articleImage__eyzAn\">\n<div class=\"article-image_imageWrapper__ANtPE\">\n<div class=\"resizable-image_wrapper__LRQlr\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image_image__XvzgU resizable-image_lowRes__5OkaL resizable-image_fadeOut___ZcLy\" src=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 33vw, (max-width: 768px) 50vw, (max-width: 1024px) 50vw, 33vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=256&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 256w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=384&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 384w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=640&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 640w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=750&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 750w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=828&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 828w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1080&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 1080w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1200&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 1200w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=1920&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 1920w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=2048&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 2048w, https:\/\/images.ladbible.com\/resize?type=webp&amp;quality=1&amp;width=3840&amp;fit=contain&amp;gravity=auto&amp;url=https:\/\/images.ladbiblegroup.com\/v3\/assets\/blt949ea8e16e463049\/blt802d93c8d39a74b1\/68be9b26591ee8db840878b4\/Screenshot_2025-09-08_at_09.59.49.png 3840w\" alt=\"Former pro surfer Toby Martin praised his now deceased friend (ABC News: Monish Nand)\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" data-nimg=\"fill\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">Former pro surfer Toby Martin praised his now deceased friend (ABC News: Monish Nand)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">He added: \u201cA really deep loss for us on the eve of Father&#8217;s Day for an avid surfer, loving father, loving husband, great son and great person.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">&#8220;[He] was just doing what he wanted to do, in a place where he loved doing it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text_text__nEn66\">\u201cHeroic to the end&#8230;self-preservation wasn&#8217;t there, just the safety of the others was important for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><cite class=\"image-credit_imageCredit__YMlqS\">Featured Image Credit: Nine News<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A surfer who was brutally mauled did his best to protect his friends before his death Friends have spoken out after Mercury Psillakis was fiercely mauled to death by a shark while surfing out in Australia. A great white shark caused pandemonium over the weekend after coming close to the shores of\u00a0Sydney&#8217;s Northern Beaches just&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[19,17,11,20,24,15,12,25,22,18,16,21,14,23,13],"class_list":["post-26854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chronic-diseases","tag-fitness","tag-health-tips","tag-healthcare-technology","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-medical-advice","tag-medical-awareness","tag-medical-research","tag-mental-health","tag-nutrition","tag-patient-care","tag-preventive-care","tag-public-health","tag-wellness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Man had heroic final act before being mauled by shark as witnesses speak out - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man had heroic final act before being mauled by shark as witnesses speak out - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A surfer who was brutally mauled did his best to protect his friends before his death Friends have spoken out after Mercury Psillakis was fiercely mauled to death by a shark while surfing out in Australia. A great white shark caused pandemonium over the weekend after coming close to the shores of\u00a0Sydney&#8217;s Northern Beaches just...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-14T01:32:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/544904743_1203935608441681_5044288880044410869_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vmfavorite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\"},\"headline\":\"Man had heroic final act before being mauled by shark as witnesses speak out\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-14T01:32:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/544904743_1203935608441681_5044288880044410869_n.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Chronic Diseases\",\"Fitness\",\"Health Tips\",\"Healthcare Technology\",\"Healthy Lifestyle\",\"Healthy Living\",\"Medical Advice\",\"Medical Awareness\",\"Medical Research\",\"Mental Health\",\"Nutrition\",\"Patient Care\",\"Preventive Care\",\"Public Health\",\"Wellness\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=26854\",\"name\":\"Man had heroic final act before being mauled by shark as witnesses speak out - 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