A SURFER was left with just a five per cent chance of survival after he “lost nearly all his blood” in a savage shark attack.
Andre de Ruyter, 27, was ripped apart by a shark off Sydney on Monday evening, in a terrifying spate of four attacks in just 48 hours.
The Aussie surfer came within minutes of dying after the predator tore into his right leg, causing him to lose almost all the blood in his body.
Andre, from Wollongong south of Sydney, had barely paddled out for his first wave at Manly Beach when the shark struck.
Screams pierced the air as two nearby surfers spotted the attack and raced over, dragging his mangled, bleeding body back to shore.
“I told him not to look back, don’t look at your leg, just keep paddling,” one of the surfers, Ash, told 10 News.
By the time they hit the beach, Andre was in cardiac arrest.
Medics later estimated his chances of survival at less than five per cent.
In a frantic bid to stop him bleeding out, the surfers ripped off a leash and cinched it tight around his leg as a makeshift tourniquet.
“He said to me, ‘tourniquet, tourniquet, tourniquet’. He saved himself in a way. I started screaming it,” Ash said.
Their shouts caught the attention of the nearby North Steyne Surf Life Saving Club, where junior members were in the middle of a CPR lesson.
Five lifesavers sprinted across the sand armed with trauma kits and a defibrillator.
In an incredible stroke of luck, two doctors, a nurse and a paramedic also happened to be on the beach.
One was Brian Burns, one of Australia’s leading pre-hospital trauma specialists.
Burns took charge of the scene, battling to keep Andre alive despite catastrophic blood loss, but fears remained that he would not survive.
Ambulances and a helicopter soon arrived as paramedics joined the beachside fight for life.
One New South Wales paramedic team had the foresight to bring double the usual supply of blood, a decision that would prove crucial.
Despite the heroic efforts already under way, Andre had no pulse when paramedics arrived with fluids and blood.
Crews were seen stripping their ambulances of every last drop of fluid in a last ditch effort to keep his circulation going.
And against the odds, Andre’s pulse finally returned.
The surfer was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition. Doctors were forced to amputate his lower right leg.
Local MP Zali Steggall praised the bravery of everyone involved.
“Thank you to the incredibly brave surfers, first responders, lifeguards and community members who rushed to help following this tragic incident,” she said, as beaches were ordered shut amid the shark attack scare.
